


The Third Road

by Pegasicorn



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: First Meetings, I don't know how to write PTSD, M/M, Side Quests, Slow Build, basically my first playthrough with extra details written in, because we all know there's more interaction than we see in-game, hell just slow moving in general, main quest, mild PTSD, rating doesn't kick in until later, the slowest of burns, this is going somewhere i promise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-07
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2018-12-12 06:38:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 71
Words: 182,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11731566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pegasicorn/pseuds/Pegasicorn
Summary: Two roads converged in a reddish pub...MacCready was getting desperate. It had been weeks since his last job, caps were running thin, and that visit from his old "bosses" probably hadn't helped with advertising.But then in walked "gas mask guy". Some weirdo with a knack for stealth, a silver tongue, and too much curiosity for his own good.MacCready got the feeling he didn't really need the mask. He was already good at hiding. And not just from his enemies.(Pega can't write summaries.)





	1. This cat thrives on curiosity

“What is it with all you mercs today? Look, I already told those other guys that MacCready’s in the back.”

 

Huh?

 

The blonde paused, glancing towards the random woman sitting at a table who apparently had been talking to him. He hadn’t even noticed her, being too fascinated by the novelty of finding live music in this post-nuclear war world he found himself in. After what he’d gone through in the Memory Den and having delved into the memories of another man--literally--to see what said man knew of his kidnapped son, followed closely by the synth detective Nick Valentine--who had helped him do said memory delving--laying out how he wanted to find some closure for the memories of the man he was and wasn’t…

 

Liam had never been a big purveyor of alcohol, but he needed a drink. And luckily, as Nick had pointed out, there was a bar very close by. Situated right below the Old State House, in fact; repurposed from the old subway system that had run through Scollay Square.

 

The Third Rail.

 

At least it seemed more clean and welcoming than most of this town had been. Certainly the most welcoming subway he’d ever been in.

 

But apparently some random woman thought he was a merc?

 

Although--he glanced down at his attire--he probably came across more as a raider with the gas mask he always wore over his face. He’d picked it up in Concord from the first raider he’d killed and never looked back. Followed by the outfit off of a dead Minuteman. Brutal, yes, but preferable to the skin tight vault suit he’d been forced to wear. Add on the random armor pieces he’d scavenged, including a Brotherhood of Steel marked chest piece, and…

 

Maybe it was this odd mix that made her assume merc. Fair enough.

 

But his curiosity was piqued now. That could be dangerous. But it also had led to some interesting things. He would’ve never made any friends or gained any of his current allies if he hadn’t been curious after all.

 

So it was for this reason that Liam found himself wandering off to the side, towards the doorway marked “V.I.P.”, ignoring the amused brow quirk Nick sent after his departing form.

 

He hung back in the shadows as he caught sight of a green-clad back disappearing into a red-tinted room beyond the short corridor ahead.

 

“So this is where you’ve been holed up, MacCready…”

 

What was with the red lighting anyway? Was there a special reason for this room? His eyes drifted to the mannequins set on either side of the doorway, almost creeped out by the blank eyes. He never liked these things.

 

“I was wondering how long it would take your bloodhounds to track me down, Winlocke.” While the first guy--he assumed it was the one in green--had sounded a bit gruff, this one was much smoother; younger. “Three months?” There was a mocking edge. “Don’t tell me you’re getting rusty.” The voice took on a lower tone. “Should we take this outside?”

 

There was an edge of threat, but it didn’t sound quite right; more bluster than anything solid. He moved a step closer to better listen, still trying to stay out of view.

 

“It ain’t like that. I’m just here to deliver a message.”

 

_ I’ll bet,  _ Liam thought sarcastically. He leaned his head a little closer.

 

“In case you forgot, I left the Gunners for good.”

 

_ Gunners? _ His intrigue grew. He’d come across Gunners a few times before, and every time they had shot at him just for getting too close. It was almost worse than raiders. He narrowed his eyes, remembering the blinding flash of a laser rifle shot that had flown a little too close to his head.

 

“So I heard. But you’re still taking jobs in the Commonwealth… You should know better in our territory.”

 

Liam frowned from the shadows.

 

“I don’t take orders from you! Not anymore…”

 

_ Good man! _ He wasn’t sure why he was silently cheering on a complete stranger. Probably because he didn’t like the Gunners and the thought of anyone standing up to them was something he could get behind. Then again, this MacCready had apparently been with the Gunners himself. Hm... Too early to judge him either way. He kept listening as the younger guy continued.

 

“So why don’t you take your  _ girlfriend _ and walk out of here while you still can?”

 

_ What?! _ Liam flinched as another voice--he assumed there was a second Gunner?--exclaimed the same word out loud that he had thought (though not in the amused manner his thought had been)...and then silently freaked out as he bumped one of the mannequins.  _ Oh shit! _ Cue the panic flailing. _ Don’tfalldon’tfalldon’tfalldon’tfall. _

 

“Winlocke, tell me we don’t have to listen to this shit!”

 

He barely kept it from tipping over, carefully setting it back upright as sweat started to bead on his forehead under the mask.

 

“Listen up MacCready. The only reason we haven’t filled your body full of holes is that we don’t want a war with Goodneighbor.”

 

It didn’t seem that sturdy, so Liam kept his hands where they were, continuing his silent panic.

 

“See...we respect other people’s boundaries.”

 

His eyes flicked to the doorway again, getting the urge to start some crap, but not wanting to give himself away. He also wasn’t sure this MacCready would appreciate the help.

 

“We know how to play the game.”

 

Didn’t stop him from sending a flat look in there though. “ _ The game”. Right. _

 

“It’s something  _ you _ never learned.”

 

“Glad to have disappointed you.”

 

Heh. Bravado. Something to be careful of unless you were skilled at flexing bluffs.

 

Winlocked chuckled, seemingly amused as well. Liam felt the hairs on his neck bristle at its cold edge. “You can play the tough guy all you want, but if we hear you’re still operating inside Gunner territory, all bets are off.” More bravado. But it was the kind to take seriously. This guy sounded like he could back up his words. “You got that?”

 

“You finished?” MacCready almost cut him off. Seemed he was as done with hearing this crap as Liam was.

 

“Yea. We’re finished.”

 

Oh shit. His eyes flicked to the teetering mannequin.

 

“Come on, Barnes.”

 

They were about to--

 

Liam quickly steadied the mannequin the best he could; took his hands off it as if afraid it would bite him…

 

It seemed to be staying. Good. Because he caught sight of green again.

 

With a panicked flurry, he backed out of the short hallway as fast as he could, ignoring the look Nick sent him as he picked a spot off to the side to act nonchalant and hope no one in that room had seen him. Times like these, he was glad for the gas mask. He was a little too rusty to trust himself at keeping a straight face right now.

 

“The detective’s life is never an easy one, but it never lacks for excitement.” That had to mean Nick had seen everything.

 

Liam just sent him a look, obviously unseen, but by the smirk he received, it seemed the synth got the message anyway.

 

With a huff, he went back to feigning nonchalance. Suddenly, a dull  _ clunk _ followed by a series of swears could be heard coming from the short corridor.

 

“What the fuck?”

 

He choked back a laugh. That mannequin must not have been as steady as he thought. Whoops.

 

“These...fucking things…” More dull clunks, as well as shuffling and more swears, steadily grew louder. A few patrons at the edge of the bar turned their heads towards the sounds.

 

Then a plastic leg appeared.

 

Liam nearly lost it.

 

One of the mannequins had gotten wedged into the bottom of the doorframe.

 

“Mother...fucking…” A combat boot started shoving at the plastic figure. “Who even thought--” Kick. “--these were a good i--” Kick. “--dea--fucking finally.” The offending object fell from the doorway with a loud  _ clunk _ .

 

“You could’ve just stepped over it.”

 

“Shut up, Winlocke.”

 

Liam watched from the corner of his eye as the two Gunners walked out of the bar, paying no mind to the varying degrees of amused stares sent their way. Normal activity picked up again once they disappeared up the stairs.

 

He turned his head towards the back room entrance as inherent curiosity raised its head again. This was probably a stupid idea. But he really wanted to know what the story was behind those Gunners. This MacCready had been one of them and left, but was now being pestered months later.

 

Ignoring any comment or look he might get from Nick, Liam once again followed his curiosity into the back room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: those mannequins really did fall over in my game. Except Nick did it. =|


	2. Enter "Gas Mask Guy"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided I'd post chapter 2 sooner than planned since the first only shows one side and kind of leaves it hanging there. I have a little over one more chapter written, but I'm gonna hold off posting any more yet (like I'd originally planned) until I get a bit more done. Basically, my posting this was sort of a motivation to get me back into writing it. ='D

What the hell had that been about?

 

He would’ve smirked at the hilarious display that made Winlocke and Barnes look like fools...except that confrontation had left him on edge. He had been hoping he could avoid running into any of his “old friends” for a little longer, if not indefinitely. No one would hire him if they knew of his past, and he really needed the caps. First to pay off the Gunners so he might convince them to leave him alone, and the rest...well...it was important he get the caps.

 

As he reached for the glass of whiskey he’d abandoned in lieu of that “pleasant” conversation, a shorter series of dull clunks, more controlled and less frantic than the Gunners’ graceful exit made him look up from his thoughts towards the door again.

 

He knit his brows as this oddly dressed guy came walking through the door, having carefully toed the other fallen mannequin out of the way. Was he lost or something? He didn’t really look like Goodneighbor material. Random metal armor pieces over neutral colored clothes (he felt like he should recognize the style, but it wasn’t coming to him now), a gas mask for whatever reason, and was that the Brotherhood of Steel symbol on his chest piece? Great, just what he needed; someone with the Brotherhood.

 

MacCready kept his face tilted away from the door, glancing from the corner of his eye so he wouldn’t be caught staring. Maybe if he was lucky, the guy really had just gotten lost and would leave him alone. But then again…

 

He flicked his eyes over as the guy stepped away from the fallen mannequin once it was sufficiently off to the side.

 

Caps were caps. If this guy wanted to hire him, he couldn’t afford to be picky. But that didn’t mean he’d just jump at the chance, especially when he didn’t even know if that’s what this guy wanted. And for all he knew, he could’ve seen the Gunners leave here just a moment ago. They could’ve already ruined his chances when he’d barely really begun.

 

The guy finally stepped within conversation range.

 

“Look, pal,” MacCready stood from his seat, abandoning his drink again for the moment on the table next to him. “If you’re lost and looking for directions, you’re in the wrong place. But if you’re looking for a hired gun, then maybe we can talk.” He’d laid it out. Now it was blondie’s move.

 

“Maybe.” The voice was smooth, a bit lower than his. He couldn’t say it was what he expected, what with the guy having his face covered and all. “But I’m wondering if you could tell me who those guys were.”

 

So he had seen Winlocke and Barnes. Damn. How much had he seen though? And did he somehow overhear their conversation? He didn’t think anybody had been near the door when they’d chatted, but then, it was in shadow. And he hadn’t been standing near enough to see down it. But there did seem to be a bite of interest. Maybe those two assh--jerks hadn’t fully ruined things after all. He just had to be careful with how he answered.

 

“Just a few morons who don’t like anyone cutting in on their business. Shouldn’t be surprised though. What can you expect from Gunners?” Maybe he shouldn’t have said they were Gunners, but then, anyone with half a brain would’ve guessed who they were. All Gunners had a certain look to them after all.

 

“Can’t say I know too much about them. Who exactly are the Gunners anyway?”

 

Was he serious? MacCready held back his surprise, opting to just answer the question. Might make this go smoother if he didn’t come across as ‘holier than thou’ or what-have-you. “One of the biggest gangs in the Commonwealth. Got a rep for being crazy.” Talk about understatement. “You know...so tightly wound, you’d think they were a cult or something? I tried working with them for awhile ‘cause the money was good, but I never really fit in.” More like his conscience had his gut in a constant knot once he saw their true nature and he couldn’t live with himself if he’d let himself become like that. “So I made my break and started flying solo. Found it suits me much better. But you…I don’t know who you are.. How do I know I won’t end up with a bullet in my back?”

 

It was hard to gage a reaction due to that mask, but he thought he saw blondie tilt his head a bit. Curious? Confused? Taken aback? “Are you always this suspicious?” Maybe all three then.

 

“Hey, you approached me.” The defensiveness started to go up, but he couldn’t help it. “Frankly, I’m taking a huge risk being out here in the Commonwealth in the first place, so I’m not about to leave anything to chance.” Maybe he shouldn’t have said that much… Too late now. He just rolled with it. “Which brings me back to my original question: can I trust you?”

 

“You don’t. That’s part of the risk, right?”

 

There was something about the way he said that that was somewhat comforting. It shouldn’t be, but it was. Maybe it was the honest way the guy just admitted it; no hesitation. “Can’t argue with that. Tell you what...price is 250 caps. Upfront. And I don’t bargain. What do you say?”

 

“...let me think about it.”

 

Damn it. He knew he should’ve tried a lower rate. He frowned, feigning nonchalance. “Alright, no problem. I’ll be around if you change your mind. Not like the meter’s running.” That was a lie. He needed to make some caps, get things sorted out before…

 

But there was no way he was going to beg some weird guy to hire him already. It would come across as desperation, and that would make him look weak. He could afford that even less in a place like Goodneighbor. Besides, the guy was already walking away--

 

...what the hell was  _ Nick Valentine _ doing here? Had he been lingering in the doorway? How long was he there, and  _ how _ had he missed those creepy glowing eyes this whole time?

 

And blondie didn’t act surprised to see him there. In fact, the synth started to turn when he got closer. As if he was leaving with him!

 

Someone who was associated with the Brotherhood somehow--he could only assume such a thing about a guy wearing their symbol so obviously on his chest--was paling around with a synth? And...was that a pipboy he’d seen on his wrist?

 

MacCready stared at the empty doorway where they two had been standing, trying to process everything.

 

Just who the hell was that guy anyway?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep. I walked away in my playthrough. But it would've felt weird to ditch Nick just to hire Mac at the time. \o/  
> Also, the Nick in my game apparently decided that the nonchalant entrance into the VIP room I wanted to make just wasn't happening and had walked in ahead of me only to sit down. Surprising Liam was taken seriously at all in that meeting.


	3. An Extra Gun

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One week later...

“My client appreciates you taking care of ‘is little ‘rat’ problem. It was becomin’ a right nuisance. Oh, by the way, last time you was ‘ere, you left some caps behind.” A mechanical arm pushed a sizeable pile of bottle caps across the counter. “Lucky ol’ Charlie ‘ere picked ‘em up for ya.”

 

“Right. My caps.” Liam carefully scooped them up, stashing them away securely. “I wondered where those got to. Thanks.”

 

“Not a problem. Now, unless you’re buyin’ something, you kin clear outta ‘ere. Got a business to run an’ all.”

 

“Of course.” The blonde backed away from the counter, stepping towards the stairs to consider his next move.

 

It had been an...eventful week. Filled with nightmare-inducing images--literally; he was sure the hell that had been Pickman Gallery would stick in his mind for a long time (damn him taking that job from Hancock)--crazy nerdish heroics that could have ended better--he’d forever feel guilty for not pulling the trigger fast enough to save Kent Connolly, but at least he’d gotten to see his hero come to life and take on the bad guys--and this last job. It was shadier than what he would’ve normally done, but completely in line with how he’d operated in the past.

 

Sneaking in the shadows, taking out his targets without them even suspecting. He’d retained those skills well enough. That silenced 10mm he’d found had come in handy, even if pistols weren’t his strong suit.

 

And it had apparently been for Hancock. He’d been able to finagle that much out of the grumpy Mr. Handy bartender here at the Rail, who had been given the task of passing on the job to someone eligible. That made him feel a little less weird about taking the job. Hancock was...odd...but he seemed a decent enough guy, once you got past the...well, how he was. It was probably a good thing he’d told Nick he needed to handle some things on his own. He wasn’t sure how the detective would have taken him doing a “cleanup” job.

 

Except now he was alone.

 

It wasn’t like Liam hadn’t handled anything on his own before and absolutely needed to have someone around to help him out. He’d just grown accustomed to having someone along to get a second opinion on things, or just chat to when things quieted down. It was also nice having an extra gun if shit went sideways.

 

…

 

He found his eyes sliding towards the big “V.I.P.” sign off to the side.

 

Would he still be there?

 

It had been a week after all. Surely someone would’ve hired the mercenary by now. But on the off chance…

 

What had his rate been? About 250?

 

Liam clutched at his hidden stash of caps, recently made heavier by his covert affair.

 

He could swing that.

 

With nothing better to do and not much to lose, Liam once again found himself following his curiosity into the V.I.P. lounge.

 

\---

 

He was nearly losing his mind.

 

One week.

 

_ Seven fu--freaking days. _

 

No interest.

 

Damn Winlocke and Barnes. Could they be hanging around somewhere scaring people off so he wouldn’t take “their” business?

 

…

 

Probably not, but he wouldn’t put it past them. They had hunted him down just to posture about  _ their _ “territory” after all. Either way, MacCready hadn’t gotten a single show of interest since they’d been here.

 

Except maybe the guy in the gas mask. He’d said he needed to think about it, though, which was just a nicer way of saying, “Not interested.”

 

Maybe he should just take his chances and set up shop somewhere else. A shame, really; Hancock had been cool with him running his little business from The Third Rail. But not even the mayor had had any work for him. He’d even asked, but apparently he’d just missed out.

 

“ _ Ooh, tough luck, Mac. I might’ve had a recon job for you to take, but some guy came by the other day asking for work, so I gave it to him. And from the sounds of it, it was a real hellhole. Nightmare material really. On that note, steer clear of Pickman Gallery.” _

 

He’d even checked in with Daisy, the kindly old ghoul who ran the general shop at the front of town. He’d helped her out a few times when some idiots were hassling her, and over time they’d built up a good rapport. It wasn’t like he  _ wanted _ there to be some trouble that needed taking care of, but on the off chance she’d known of anything, he’d figured it couldn’t hurt...

 

“ _ That’s nice of you to offer, MacCready, but things have been pretty quiet lately. I’ll be sure to let you know if any of those hooligans start causing trouble again, though.” _

 

Sigh.

 

He was even thinking of attempting Med-Tek again if only to have something to do. It might be suicide, but, well...it wasn’t like he was getting anywhere at this rate anyw--

 

Footsteps.

 

MacCready glanced up as they got louder, just as their owner walked through the doorway. He had to fight to keep the surprise off his face.

 

_ You’ve gotta be effing kidding me. _

 

It was gas mask guy! Could he have reconsidered the offer? Did that mean he really meant it when he’d said he had to think about it?

 

_ Whoa, hold on now, MacCready, don’t get ahead of yourself _ , he mentally chastised himself, culling back the staring to just mild curiosity in case he wasn’t here to actually hire--

 

“You still looking for work, MacCready?”

 

Apparently the universe wanted to cut off his thoughts when they turned negative today.

 

“That depends,” he managed to answer after only a split second of shocked silence which he hoped hadn’t shown on his face. He got to his feet to continue the conversation. “You ready to fork over 250 caps?” There might have been just the slightest edge of hope lacing his words. He held his breath as he waited for the guy’s answer.

 

“You’ve got a deal.”

 

And silently released said breath, finally allowing a bit of upbeat attitude to enter his voice as the caps were handed over. “Now you’re speaking my language.” He took a quick glance, almost amazed at the amount the guy had easily given up, before safely stowing it away. “Alright, Boss, you’ve got yourself an extra gun.” He extended his hand to shake on the deal. “Lead on.”


	4. Chasing Cats

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How do you follow the guy who hired you if he makes it difficult to follow?

Liam never anticipated the day he’d hire someone to watch his back.

 

But here he was, in post-nuclear apocalyptic Boston, with a mercenary tailing behind him as he made his way up the stairs out of The Third Rail, a bar set up in the subway beneath the Old State House.

 

Life was funny.

 

Not that it had been normal since the day he had entered Vault 111.

 

“So, Boss...where exactly are we headed?”

 

He glanced over his shoulder as he hit the first landing, the melodic sounds of Magnolia’s singing echoing up from below. “I’ve got a few things I need to take care of.”

 

There was a specific thing really...but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to do that yet. One didn’t hear of a place like “The Glowing Sea” and think, “Oh, sounds great! Let me pack my bags and I’ll head right over!” No way. He needed to plan. Stock up on supplies. Make sure he was skilled enough to handle whatever pleasant creatures lived there.

 

...and if he was being honest with himself, he was terrified and wanted to put it off for a little while. Shaun was already at least ten years old if Kellogg’s memories were anything to go by. He was already late to rescue him; what were a few more weeks of making sure he’d actually be able to?

 

In the meantime, there actually were a few things he’d promised to deal with. He mentally went through the tasks he’d picked up, picking out what could be the closest before finally deciding...

 

“How do you feel about books?”

 

\---

 

It had seemed like a trick question at the time. People in the wasteland had mixed feelings about books and reading them. Some saw little point in it, thinking it more important to pick up a gun and learn to shoot. Knowing the whole of “Romeo and Juliet” by heart wouldn’t get you a meal or fend off a deathclaw after all.

 

But others saw it as an opportunity to broaden the mind and pick up other useful skills. There were mathematics and medical books after all--always useful to know in case you ever decided to open your own business and needed to keep track of higher amounts of caps and the going rate of most items; or if whatever you were trying to shoot at managed to maul you before you ended it and you needed to stitch up a wound.

 

As for MacCready...books had been an escape. A way to step out of your life for a moment, leave the now and enter a new world...until you reached the last page of course. Then you stepped back into the world, or found yourself a new book to immerse yourself in.

 

Turns out, the question had been about none of these things. Apparently, he’d been asked how he felt about books because they were headed for the library.

 

Boston Public Library.

 

Why? To return a book. Because of course. Why else would you hire an extra gun to watch your back?

 

But then...caps were caps. MacCready was getting paid to follow along. He might as well go with it.

 

Though it wasn’t like Liam made it easy with how fast he moved. The guy practically ran through the city streets, putting MacCready on high alert mode, trying to listen for enemies at a higher rate than normal. What was he thinking? Sure, it was generally a better idea to get out of the more cramped part of the city as quickly as possible, but you wanted to do it carefully so you wouldn’t run into one of its more “pleasant” denizens.

 

Except it’d been...oddly quiet close to Goodneighbor. Huh. He was certain a group of super mutants normally hauled up in one of the nearby buildings, but there hadn’t been a single heavy stomp of feet, or heavy grunt of stupid. Just an eerie silence, like everything that normally haunted the place had been scared away.

 

Perhaps by a certain comic book hero suddenly come to life maybe? He’d heard rumors, and even caught the odd radio report the other day...

 

Before he knew it, they reached the open air of the riverside, where, sure, they were more out in the open with less cover, but it was also easier to spot any incoming threats. The fact that this part of the Charleston tended to be more quiet than the rest was also a plus. Now if only the sun wasn’t starting to set. He really hated traveling at night, but it looked like he had no choice. It had already been later in the afternoon when they’d set off.

 

_Hope the sun lasts long enough for us to reach shelter._

 

Unfortunately, it was fading fast. A sign of the shorter days of autumn getting closer to winter. Wasn't like he'd complain to his new boss about it though. (Even if it was tempting.) The last thing he needed was for this job to get off to a rocky start. Didn't wanna risk losing it now; not when he wasn't sure when he'd get another one.

 

MacCready thought he heard muttering up ahead (“...what street was it..?”; “...nah, not that one…”; “...could’ve sworn it…”; “...or maybe... “), and had to stop himself short of colliding with a back as Liam suddenly drew to a halt with a mumbled “damn it” of frustration. He saw the glare of a pip-boy light bouncing off “gas mask guy’s” goggles as he brought it up to his face. “Where the hell was it again...?” Liam grumbled to himself, zooming in on the map in front of him.

 

…

 

_Are you serious?_

 

This guy had absolutely no idea where they were going, did he?

 

MacCready resisted the urge to face palm.

 

_Remember you're getting paid, MacCready. Just think of the caps you were given. Think of the extra caps that could come out of this trip._

 

A distant droning started to fill the air.

 

He blinked. _What the hell is that sound…?_

 

The thought trailed off as confusion slowly turned into a mixture of annoyance and mild dread. The low tone grew louder, causing the blonde in front of him to raise his head towards it curiously as well.

 

MacCready knew that sound. Its source had been the talk of the Commonwealth for the past few weeks. Even cooped up in the Third Rail as he’d been for most of that time, it was hard to get away from the gossip.

 

_Brotherhood._

 

Liam turned a bit towards him, and he swore he could feel the intrigued expression shining through that gas mask.

 

Then he took off.

 

MacCready nearly swore.

 

_Who the hell runs_ towards _the sound of a vertibird?!_

 

Apparently the guy who had hired him. Looked like this was going to be one of _those_ jobs. Rangle the looney.

 

Although…

 

Nothing was keeping him from sneaking away. The guy was basically leaving him behind. He might not even notice if the merc vanished, getting lost because he couldn’t keep up--

 

Nah, he couldn’t do that. It would tarnish his reputation. (It definitely wasn’t because he’d feel guilty for abandoning the guy. Nope. Not at all.)

 

Biting back a frustrated groan, MacCready drew his rifle, scrambling to reach the corner Liam had disappeared behind.

 

_Just think of the caps. You’re getting paid. Think of the caps--_

 

Where the hell did he go?

 

The street was practically deserted.

 

He slowed his pace, pausing for a second as he caught a glimpse of the droning shape in the air as it circled a skyscraper, automatic fire targeting who knows what, the last orange of sunset glinting off shining metal. But no sign of his employer. Damn. He might very well have lost the guy anyway. Unless this was some sick joke. A trick to get him alone so he would be ambushed and…

 

MacCready tensed, a chill going up his spine as his eyes darted around the growing shadows. Suddenly he felt very exposed. He moved towards the closest wall, still keeping alert as he started creeping along, practically merging with brick and cement with how his shoulder kept scraping it. He was probably being silly. Why give a guy 250 caps--not exactly a small sum--just to lure him out into the open?

 

Maybe if he could find the library, he would find gas mask guy, and he’d get a blank goggle stare that hid who-knew-what expression before being criticized about keeping up and then they’d continue on this crazy mission--

 

**Pop!**

 

_..._

 

_Is that droning getting louder suddenly?_

 

Blue eyes flicked up.

 

And widened at the sight of a spinning vertibird spewing black smoke as it quickly descended, heading straight for the intersection in front of--

 

_Sh--shi--crap!_ **_Crap!_ **

 

He turned to run. There was no way in hell he’d get far enough away before it crashed, but he sure as hell was going to try--

 

A hand clamped around his arm.

 

And yanked.

 

Just as the loud crunch and BOOM of crashing vertibird careened into 200-year-old parked car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there was a vertibird circling Trinity Tower when I went down that street. Not actually the first one I saw crash in my game, but we'll say it is for the sake of the story. I may have adjusted the order I did a few things in so it would make more sense in the timeline. >>  
> I did a lot of fast traveling back then and I'm kind of annoyed at myself for it. You miss a lot of stuff...and then have trouble writing fanfiction about your playthrough later. =D  
> (Also noticed my previous chapters and the last fic I posted had no italics. Looks like the way AO3 inputs text by default changed, so it wasn't registering any formatting. Hate that I didn't catch that sooner, cuz I mark all thoughts in italics. Had to go back and replace stuff...which seems to have added extra spacing between paragraphs, so the chapters seem longer than they are now. But I guess that makes it easier to read?)


	5. Memento

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is shorter. I end them where it seems right, and it just went this way. I should probably also mention that this is going to be...somewhat slow moving. At least for now.  
> whyhavetheynotreachedthelibraryyetgeez

He pulled the mercenary behind him into the alleyway, ducking back just as heat washed past, causing his pipboy to faintly click with radiation. Whose bright idea was it to fusion power all the cars anyway? Luckily, it wasn’t high enough levels to need radaway. Unlike where he would be going later.

 

_ Much _ later.

 

There was a scrabbling of gravel, MacCready’s voice echoing out a somewhat shaken, “What the hell?!”

 

Liam spared him a quick glance to make sure he was in one piece, edging back to the alley’s mouth when he saw the merc seemed fine--if a little miffed--to peek his head around the corner.

 

A burning pile of shrapnel and twisted metal met his gaze, fire blazing brightly in the dying sunlight.

 

“Well…” He leaned back into the alley, keeping his voice light. “That could’ve been bad.”

 

“No shi--” MacCready cut himself off with a frustrated sound. “No  _ kidding _ . The hell were you doing?”

 

Liam blinked, the motion hidden behind his gas mask. “Keeping you from getting killed?”

 

He almost swore the guy  _ growled _ . “ _ Before _ that. Who the hell goes running  _ towards _ a flying vertibird?!”

 

Um. “I...wanted to see what was going on?” He knew how stupid that sounded before it even left his mouth. But. Well. It was true.

 

MacCready just stared. “You...wanted to…” He raised a hand, stopping it halfway to his face and lowering it into a clenched fist. “Are you serious?”

 

Liam flicked his gaze away. “Well…” He shrugged. “I never would’ve gotten anywhere if I didn’t keep moving towards things.”

 

_ Like how you’re going towards the Glowing Sea? _ his mind pointed out.

 

_ I’ll go there when I’m ready, _ he thought back.  _ When it won’t get me killed. _

 

He could feel the absurdity of that statement and the amused look of disbelief it received.

 

_ When I’m  _ less likely _ to get killed,  _ he amended, that look receding some but not all the way.

 

Great. He was arguing with himself while talking to the merc that was eyeing him like he was crazy. If only the guy knew what was going on in his head.

 

Another reason not to head to the Glowing Sea yet. Liam bet that just the mere mention of it would have this guy tossing his caps back at him with barely a “seeya!” Hell, he wouldn’t be surprised if MacCready just ran off and kept the caps.

 

Not that he’d blame him. The guy had seemed kind of...eager to be hired when he’d come across him at the Third Rail. The fact he’d still been there a week later probably meant things hadn’t been going well. Maybe those two guys--Gunners; what had their names been again?--really had done some damage. MacCready had said they didn’t want anyone muscling in on their business. Rivalry of the deadliest kind perhaps.

 

“Besides,” Liam put an upbeat tone into his voice, throwing a thumb over his shoulder, out of the alleyway. “It led us to the library.”

 

MacCready stared.

 

Before that clenched fist finished its path up to his face in a facepalm.

 

\---

 

MacCready came to a conclusion.

 

Liam was the craziest guy he had ever met.

 

Maybe not raider levels of crazy--thankfully--but a strange kind of off-kilter. Definitely one of the weirdest guys he had met; he was sure of it.

 

And that mask was starting to piss him off.

 

But the library was indeed just ahead as the blonde had pointed out. Problem was, the clearest path to it was currently occupied by the twisted burning metal of vertibird and multiple vehicles. Luck was on their side, however, as the alley they had huddled in seemed to bypass the ruined street, only somewhat filled with rubble from the building it wrapped around. Not the easiest detour, but manageable. And no need to pick their way through burning vertibird. Scavengers would probably take care of the pile of metal soon enough. Some even before the fire went out.

 

Liam insisted he wanted to search for survivors among the wreckage. Slim chance of finding anyone alive. MacCready had almost pointed that out too--he’d seen these things go down before; people hardly walked away from them--but by the set of Liam’s shoulders, he didn’t think anyone had survived the crash either. If it was just an excuse to risk radiation in search of loot, he should just say so. It wasn’t like he’d be judged for it; just for his choice of location (MacCready hadn’t missed the clicking coming from Liam’s pipboy).

 

MacCready waited far enough away that he knew he wouldn’t take too much radiation, keeping a wary eye on their surroundings to avoid being jumped in the now dark (the explosion was bound to draw attention), but also tracking his crazy employer’s movements. He was still being paid to watch the guy’s back after all. Even if he didn’t make it easy.

 

He came back looking...well, MacCready wasn’t entirely sure (damn that mask), but the guy was walking a bit slower, almost giving off a heavy air as he stuffed something into his pocket. There wasn’t time to catch what it was, but MacCready thought he saw a silver chain dangling for a second.

 

Oh.

 

He knew what that was.

 

Dog tags.

 

The Brotherhood of Steel symbol seemed to blaze brighter on Liam’s chest armor as he brushed past the merc with a faint “let’s go”.

 

He’d almost forgotten about the symbol painted on that armor. It had made him suspect Liam was associated with the Brotherhood somehow, unless he’d just scavenged it somewhere…

 

This seemed to settle it.

 

He definitely had a connection to the Brotherhood.

 

MacCready wasn’t sure how to feel about that.


	6. Library Card

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam and MacCready finally reach the library, but things don't really go to plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Doubt anyone cares and not like it makes a difference, but I really swapped some things out of order here. Actually did a few things _before_ going into the library. Hell, not even sure I had this quest yet...

He wasn’t entirely sure why he had grabbed their dog tags.

 

But...it had seemed wrong to  _ not _ take them. Risking them to scavengers like that.

 

There had been two. The pilot and possibly a knight. Truthfully, Liam didn’t know enough about the Brotherhood to know all their ranks and titles. But he did know they were an army of sorts. Or the closest thing to the one he’d known in this day and age. Even issued dog tags as means of identification. Too many a fallen soldier left behind…

 

MacCready was eyeing him.

 

He might have been trying not to be obvious about it, but Liam was too familiar with wearing a mask--figuratively speaking--to not notice. But he pretended not to for now. If the merc kept it up, he’d probably give in and ask what the problem was, or maybe the guy would finally open his mouth and say what was on his mind. For now, it didn’t matter.

 

What did matter was the fact Liam could see the body of a super mutant not far from the library’s main door…

 

He furrowed his brow beneath the gas mask, intent on moving closer to examine it.

 

_ “Welcome to the Boston Public Library. The Library is currently closed.” _

 

_ Eh? _

 

Liam drew up short, snapping his head towards the door at his side. Specifically, at the intercom next to it that had “spoken”.

 

“That thing still works?”

 

He looked over, seeing MacCready eyeing the box curiously too.

 

Liam brought his eyes back to the speaker box. “Apparently…” Memories of his last few visits started to resurface. Of getting here after hours, facing the “wrath” of the automated door system halting him from entering so he could retrieve Nora after she somehow spent more time than she originally intended lost in the books once again, or researching something that would support the current case she was working on in court that week…

 

He shook his head, clearing those thoughts away before the pains of the past could start squeezing his heart.

 

MacCready was eyeing him again. Liam didn’t want to answer any questions that might come up from his blankly staring at the door for an awkward amount of time, so, ignoring the mixture of possibly disturbed and definitely concerned being aimed his way, he approached the box.

 

“Why is the library closed?” Not exactly a genius level question, but best to keep to simple prompts since these things didn’t always prove to have the brightest form of programming. He knew that from experience.

 

_ “The library is currently facing some...technical difficulties.” _

 

Liam’s eyes slid over to the dead super mutant not far from the doorstep. “Yea. I’ll bet.” He thought he heard a snort behind him.

 

The intercom voice continued on, unphased.  _ “Please check our hotline for more details.” _

 

Which basically meant “fuck off; we’re not telling you shit”. But he was not going to be dismissed by this stupid thing. Not again. It was a long shot, but Liam pulled out the big guns. “What if I have an appointment? Made it 200 years ago.” He couldn’t help adding on a muttered, “ _ Asshole… _ ” This time there was a snicker. Liam would’ve smirked if he wasn’t so annoyed.

 

_ “There are currently no appointments scheduled at this time. Thank you and have a good day.” _

 

…

 

He glanced back at MacCready. Then back to the speaker.

 

MacCready.

 

Speaker.

 

...

 

“Screw it.”

 

Almost literally. Liam dropped into a crouch in front of the door, reaching for a screwdriver and bobby pin as he went. He tossed a quick “watch my back” over his shoulder, not waiting for a response as he got to work.

 

“Wait, what’re you--”

 

_ Click. _

 

“--do...ing…  _ Oh. _ ”

 

“Yes,” Liam mumbled to himself in victory. He’d wanted to do that for a long time. He reached up a hand, testing the handle. It opened with a satisfying  _ click _ , swinging open slightly.

 

“Neat trick.” He didn’t miss the appraising tone to MacCready’s voice. This time he did smirk.

 

“Thanks. So, shall we?” He tilted his head towards the open door.

 

“Lead the way, Boss.”

 

\---

 

MacCready had a million questions he wanted to ask.

 

And all of them were probably too personal, or likely to get him kicked in the nuts at best, shot in the head at worst.

 

Since he preferred neither of those, wanting to keep this job and his reputation intact--not to mention the caps--MacCready opted to keep his mouth shut.

 

But that didn’t stop him from making a mental list of things he observed.

 

So far he had: associated with the Brotherhood, good with a bobby pin, spaces out at random…

 

And apparently sneaky as hell. The guy was whisper quiet as they passed the threshold into the library. It was pretty dark in here, but there was just enough moonlight filtering in from the dingy windows to see shapes. Not to mention the odd light that somehow hadn’t been destroyed or burnt out. There was even a particularly bright one shining down like a spotlight on a terminal with a slot mechanism underneath. Had to be the book return terminal they were after. But that light was suspicious; like walking into a trap.

 

“Huh. I forgot they had protectrons.”

 

MacCready followed Liam’s gaze--he assumed where he was looking, since, well, gas mask--and spotted a few shapes lumbering back and forth through a doorway ahead. That could be a problem.

 

But wait.

 

He frowned. “What do you mean you forgot--”

 

_ “Attention. Security breach near subway entrance.” _

 

“That can’t be good.” Liam pretty much summed up his thoughts.

 

_ “Visitors and colleagues are advised to seek cover and remain calm.” _

 

_ Right. Because that always keeps people calm. _ But cover sounded like a good idea now. His employer seemed to be thinking the same thing as him, moving off to the side where there were some tables that might prove a good place to bunker down.

 

That’s when the distant laser fire began. And a minigun. Great.

 

“What the fuck,” he caught Liam mumbling as he glanced towards the noise, somewhere further in the building. “I know she said clear it out, but what the hell is going on…”

 

MacCready frowned, curious, and just a bit suspicious. When Liam had said they were coming here to return a book, he hadn’t really explained why. Just that he was going to. Had someone hired him to come here? And for what reason? Was it really just to return a book? Because seriously, hardly anyone gave a damn about literature, let alone bringing those random overdue books to the return terminals you could find scattered about. (If they were intact, MacCready secretly preferred reading them instead.) And why wouldn’t they come do it themself?

 

He reached the edge of an overturned table, looking back over his shoulder at the spotlight-lit screen against the far wall again. Yea, this felt like a trap alright. He turned his eyes back to his employer, hunkering down in the darkness, gas mask pointed in the direction of laser fire. It didn’t seem like Liam was planning anything--and hell, he had pulled him out of the path of a crashing vertibird--but MacCready couldn’t shake that feeling of suspicion.

 

The door creaked open behind him.

 

Heavy feet thudded in.

 

And snapped a tripwire.

 

“Shi--”

 

There was a loud  _ BOOM, _ a bright  _ FLASH _ \--

  
\--and the  _ slam _ of the ground coming up to meet him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a love for cliffhangers apparently. 83  
>  ~~Please don't hurt me.~~


	7. Welcoming Committee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The word of the day is: shit.
> 
> So originally I figured it'd take a chapter or two to get to the library, then maybe it'd take one more chapter for them to clear it out...  
> HA. GOOD ONE, SELF.

It was like listening through a high-pitched haze, like a radio you couldn’t quite tune, so sounds were oddly muffled in a cottony or underwater sort of way. There were some familiar noises--far away or close, he couldn’t tell--some kind of commotion going on. (Lasers? Gun shots? Yelling?) And it was dark. Were his eyes even open?

 

He blinked.

 

Definitely open.

 

Why was it so dark? It was too bright just a second ago.

 

Oh god, everything hurt.

 

“...it...shi..t, shit…” Was someone talking? “Hey, can you hear me?”

 

There was a groan. Did he make that noise?

 

A hand was placed on his shoulder, barely touching as if afraid to cause any damage. And there was that voice again, quieter, muttering. “Damn it...not good… Where did I put those…” Some rustling sounds, a clink of glass...

 

He felt a slight sting in his neck.

 

Suddenly his head hurt less. Hell, everything hurt less.

 

And he hadn’t noticed it before, but it was a lot easier to breathe now.

 

“Fu...ck…” he groaned out, not caring enough to hold off the swear. Duncan forgive him. He carefully rolled onto his back, grunting at how sore his body felt as the stimpak Liam had apparently injected got to work. “The hell just..happened…”

 

The shadowed form of his employer let out a shaky breath, aiming his gas mask just around the upturned table. MacCready slowly followed his gaze, being careful not to move too fast just yet.

 

Two giant green bodies laid sprawled out in unnatural ways.

 

MacCready let out a breath.

 

“Super mutants,” Liam sighed out, voicing his thoughts aloud. “They set off a trap in front of the door. Lucky we didn’t do that ourselves. ...but I guess that explains the dead mutant outside, huh.” There was an edge of humor lining his voice, shaky as it was.

 

MacCready snorted.

 

He braced himself, grimacing a bit as he started to sit up.

 

Liam seemed to snap to life, reaching a hand out as if to halt or help him. “Whoa, hold on, maybe you shouldn’t be getting up just yet.”

 

“I’m _fine_.” He held back a wince at the twinge his own biting remark sent through his still-ringing head.

 

The gas mask tilted a bit. “I’m sure.” He sounded unconvinced. “But maybe take it easy just to be safe.”

 

_“Warning. Dangerous fugitive is on the loose. Do not attempt to apprehend.”_

 

Liam whipped his head towards the big room they could see past the wall with the spotlit terminal. A humanoid shape was lumbering back and forth, seeking out its next target.

 

MacCready snorted derisively. “Doesn’t sound like I have that luxury, Boss.” He finally pushed himself up, carefully shifting into a half-crouch so he’d stay low.

 

He heard the blonde release another sigh, bordering on a growl really. “Alright. Fair enough.” Liam reached into his pack and brought something out that he thrust in his direction. “But at least take these.”

 

Two stimpaks.

 

He drew back, reluctant to take them. “Look, you already paid me, so--”

 

“Think of it as an investment.”

 

…

 

MacCready let out his own frustrated sound that really was almost a growl. “ _Fine._ ” He snapped them up, immediately stowing them away in one of his belt pouches. “But I’m only using them in an emergency.”

 

Liam stared at him for a moment...and nodded, seemingly satisfied. (Not that he could tell with that damn gas mask covering all expression.)

 

And forward they went.

 

\---

 

He stuck to the shadows, focusing on the _clang clang_ of robotic footsteps just past the wall.

 

And partly on MacCready, who was trying to copy the way he stooped low to become more difficult to spot. Admirable, but he had a long way to go if he wanted to master stealth. Might’ve also helped if the merc wasn’t trying to hide the telltale signs of how he ached with every step.

 

That grenade had thrown him pretty far. It was lucky that was all it had done. The mutants had taken the brunt of it, shrapnel flying straight at their backs at point blank, taking them out in a sickening spray.

 

Unfortunately, it had also attracted some attention. A mini war had broken out in front of him as two more super mutants had come barreling in from the hall just as a protectron had appeared to investigate. He’d had to intervene with a few shots of his own before they could get too close. A laser beam had gotten dangerously close to singing his exposed shoulder.

 

He could still feel the heat of his burned sleeve.

 

_“False alarm. Standing down.”_

 

Sounded like the robot had given up the search. Too bad they couldn’t just ignore it; Liam had promised to clear the library of hostiles, and the protectrons ranked hostile enough that they had to go too. Then they’d need to work their way through the rest of the place, room by room, and find any remaining super mutants. He was sure he could hear snippets of conversation on the lower end of the IQ chart. Did they have an obsession with the color green or something?

 

This “simple” Library book return mission was proving a lot more difficult than he’d bargained for…

 

But there was the protectron. Just lazily lumbering back and forth on a set path, not seeming to take notice of them crouched in the shadows.

 

Liam drew his assault rifle, taking aim.

 

There was something uniquely satisfying about seeing the glass dome of a protectron go flying off into tiny pieces of fire as said protectron fell forward rather gracelessly in a smoking heap.

 

_Buzzz._

 

Liam frowned beneath his gas mask. That sound was familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it. And it was soon replaced by the distinct _put put put put_ of something mechanical ahead.

 

He turned his head towards the back of the room, just over and beyond some temporary fallback points someone had hastily set up. There on a raised platform, two green dots were moving steadily back and forth right where the sound was coming from.

 

_Shit._ A turret. Now he definitely didn’t remember that being here. Someone must’ve set it up recently; probably the same someone that had rigged that grenade tripwire by the main door (and those bits of cover maybe? Hard to know since signs of the Big War were all over the Commonwealth, even in buildings that should have had nothing to do with it).

 

Liam raised his rifle, intending to fire off a few shots--

 

_Click._

 

_Shit._ He scrambled to reload before it could notice--

 

It turned its sights on him.

 

_Shitshitshit--_

 

The turret blew up in a blaze of smoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hurt me. 8D *hides*


	8. Taking Stock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They're never getting out of this library, are they? \o/ I mean...they do eventually. But. Somehow they're not done here yet.  
> How are they still here?!

He twitched reflexively, barely preventing himself from jumping back completely as bits of metal flew from the previously intact turret.

 

Liam turned his head.

 

And saw MacCready leaning out from behind a bookshelf, sniper rifle still lined up from the perfect shot he’d made.

 

He stared at the mercenary.

 

“You ok there, Boss?”

 

The guy sounded pretty smug for someone still half-beaten up by a grenade.

 

Liam realized he was gaping. Not that MacCready would notice due to the gas mask. He shut his mouth anyway, feeling his face go red despite himself. “Nice shot.”

 

He swore he could feel the sniper’s smugness intensify, puffing his chest out a bit. It was hard to tell in the low light, but there might’ve been a smirk raising the corner of his mouth too. “It’s what I’m known for.”

 

Liam couldn’t help releasing a quiet laugh at that, not wanting to attract any more attention to their current position. “I don’t doubt it. But don’t let one perfect shot get to your head. We still have the rest of this place to clear out.” He jerked his head towards a set of double doors just past a few knocked over shelves, where he could pick up the padding of heavy feet coming from the other side. They led to the biggest room on this level of the library if he remembered right. Who knew how many mutants were in there.

 

That seemed to sober MacCready up, turning his head in that direction as something kind of...snuffle-snorted. “Sounds like they have a hound with them.” He didn’t sound pleased with his conclusion as he glanced back at the blonde.

 

Liam nodded, silent agreement passing between them that they should get this over with. Better than waiting to be ambushed.

 

They crept closer to the door, pausing as that snuffling intensified. Liam stood stock still, instinctively slowing his breathing. MacCready just seemed to be holding his breath.

 

Finally, it seemed to moved away from the door. Liam waited a few breaths, cocking his head with a frown to try to pick up the direction it was headed. Definitely farther away. Good. Hopefully it was far enough. He tentatively reached out a hand, turning the knob.

 

Something rattled against the wood. It barely budged.

 

MacCready released the breath he’d been holding. “Chained.”

 

Liam nodded. “Looks like. Kind of weird though, chaining it on the other side.” He looked back over his shoulder at the fortified room. “With the way this place looks, you’d think it’d be chained on _this_ side instead.”

 

MacCready snorted. “Who knows. Maybe the big, dumb, and uglies finally grew some brains and wanna trap us in here.”

 

Liam’s mouth twisted into a wry smirk. “‘Big, dumb, and…’?” He snorted. “Nice description for them.” He glanced over the room they were in again, trying to remember if there was another way around other than that hall back out the door they’d come through. Which might be filled with super mutants; maybe even a stray protectron that had somehow survived. He didn’t like the idea of fighting them in a tight space like that where it might be difficult to find cover. And it had a view of the courtyard, which meant moonlight might be streaming in, giving away their positions as they tried to sneak through--

 

“Hey. What’s that over there?”  


“Huh?” Liam jerked out of his thoughts, immediately feeling himself start to turn red as he realized he’d been staring off into space again. He turned his attention back to the mercenary, who luckily hadn’t seemed to notice his drifting. Instead, he was looking towards the back of the room. He followed the sniper’s gaze in that direction.

 

There was a faint bit of light streaming from behind some more bookshelves in a corner, lighting up a door on the back wall. And near it…

 

He frowned. “That a body?” A pair of legs was just visible, the rest of the form obscured by more overturned shelves and makeshift barricades.

 

“Let’s take a look.”

 

\---

 

Definitely a body.

 

Turned out there was also a working terminal on the desk--the mysterious source of light being a lantern on said desk--in the opposite corner of said body.

 

MacCready could care less--those things tended to be locked and he was no hacker--but his employer had his interest piqued immediately, muttering something about “finding some answers”.

 

What was the point? It seemed pretty obvious what was going on. Dead guy here had gotten cornered or something, so he must’ve set up some last ditch defenses, fought with all he had, and finally died.

 

The end.

 

But no. Liam had to check the terminal. And he was probably going to read through everything on there--he’d just made a sound of triumph too. Must’ve been locked and he’d somehow hacked it. MacCready added that to his list. Might come in handy for--

 

No. There was no way he would mention that. Hell, there was no guarantee he’d even be traveling with this guy for much longer, let alone trusting him with any sensitive information. Never mind the fact that Liam had had his back twice already when it was supposed to be MacCready watching his like he was hired to. Almost felt like he had to fight to do his job. Was this going to be one of _those_ missions? Where he was essentially hired to be a spectator? Because until he’d made that perfect shot on that turret, it had started to feel like it…

 

Shaking off that train of thought before he could get too annoyed, MacCready made his way closer to the body by the door, hoping to get a little more insight (even if he felt it was unnecessary). Something about the way the guy was dressed was pinging some familiar vibes. Hard to tell in this light, but it might’ve been a shade of green?

 

“Army fatigues?”

 

MacCready might have jumped.

 

How the hell did Liam walk so quietly??

 

He quickly composed himself, hoping his boss hadn’t noticed. Not that he’d get any indication that he had. _Fu--freaking gas mask._ “You find out anything useful from that thing, or just waste our time?” Ah, crap. That had come out more snappy than it should have. Not that he cared if it irritated the guy; but he was currently employed by him, and he’d like to keep the caps.

 

Liam regarded him silently for a moment before he answered. “Learned quite a bit actually.” He glanced back over his shoulder at the desk. “From the sounds of it, these guys were here making copies of all the books so they could preserve them. But they kept getting hit by super mutants.” He turned to face MacCready again. “Doesn’t look like they got to finish the job.” They both shot a look at the dead guy at their feet.

 

Yea, definitely not.

 

Liam continued. “This...Curator Given--the guy who wrote everything on the terminal; not so sure it’s our dead “friend” here--actually left a message for whoever found it, asking to protect the data they collected. But I’d say we’re a little late.” MacCready snorted at the sarcastic remark. “But we can at least finish clearing the place out. I did promise to after all.”

 

“This better be worth it…”

 

He swore he could feel the smirk emanating from behind that mask. “It might be already.” He held up a key. “Found this by the terminal. Apparently he also left some supplies locked up in the back room. I don’t think he’ll mind too much if we...commandeer them for our efforts.”

 

The door opened without protest. As it wasn’t locked, it was safe to assume this wasn’t _the_ back room. It also contained no supplies. What it did contain, though, was a row of data banks.

 

And another body.

 

Not too surprising.

 

“ _Given_ the circumstances, I’d say we found Given.”

 

The gas mask slowly turned to look at him.

 

And stared.

 

It was...kind of unnerving having those lifeless lenses pointed at you. He had to fight the urge to shrink back, not knowing what was going on behind them. When would he learn to keep his mouth shut--

 

“MacCready.” The words escaped through a restrained chuckle. “That was _terrible_.”

 

He released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, the edge of a snicker lacing it. He shrugged. “Opportunity was too good to pass up.”

 

He knelt to examine the corpse--trying not to wince at how his legs protested--noting the haphazard state of a nearby medkit. The guy had probably died in a last ditch effort to treat his own wounds. MacCready wrinkled his nose. Definitely not a way he wanted to go out himself.

 

There was nothing useful left to salvage from the medkit, but the guy had a few caps and some ammo on him--rifle rounds that wouldn’t work in his sniper, but maybe Liam would find a use if he couldn’t fetch a nice cap from them later. What had he pulled out of his pack? An assault rifle? What ammo did they use again…

 

“Hey, heads up!”

 

MacCready looked up--

 

And scrambled to catch the box of ammo before it hit him in the face. He leveled a glare at his boss, who he swore looked a bit sheepish.

 

“Sorry about that…” Liam threw a thumb over his shoulder at the open door behind him. “But I, uh, found the storage room. There’s some pretty good stuff in here, too, including some more ammo if you want. Otherwise, I’m just gonna sell it later.”

 

He looked down at the box in his hand. Huh. .308s. His brows went up appreciatively. “Nah. I think I’m good. Thanks,” he added on as almost an afterthought, the word feeling a bit foreign to his mouth.

 

Liam nodded, turning back towards the small room (more of a closet really). “Also found some more stimpaks, so you should really just use one of the ones I gave you.”

 

MacCready opened his mouth, about to protest--

 

“Look,” Liam cut him off, turning serious. “I can tell that grenade did more damage than you’re letting on...”

 

\--and shut it with a click, frowning as the blonde continued, but remaining quiet to let him finish.

 

“And that one stimpak wasn’t enough. But we’re about to take on super mutants, and we need to be in top shape, so if that means _wasting_ a stimpak if that’s what you’re worried about--” MacCready tried not to flinch. “--I’d rather you use the stimpak than lose your life. I didn’t hire you to die after all.”

 

He opened his mouth a few times, trying to come up with a good argument--err, logical reason to combat that. “This isn’t...going to kill me.” He should know; he’d worked through worse, and managed to push through just fine...for the most part. Perhaps he wouldn’t say that out loud. “A few aches and pains are nothing I can’t handle. Not something I’d resort to a stimpak for.” Hopefully that argument was sound enough.

 

Even though giving in and using another stimpak was tempting.

 

And that gas mask was still pointed at him. He resisted the urge to start squirming, keeping his eyes fixed steadily on the lenses where he knew--assumed--Liam’s eyes would be. Liam didn’t even flinch. “Even so. Don’t be afraid to use it if it’s needed. That’s what they’re there for.”

 

…

 

_God damn it._

 

“Anyway…” Liam’s tone lightened as he flicked his gaze away--much to MacCready’s relief--taking one last look at the storage space’s contents before stepping away, as if deeming its remaining contents not necessary. “I think that’s all we can do here. I don’t dare touch any of those terminals.” He gave a cursory glance around the room, lingering on the piles of books gathered. “Gotta be where they were storing all the backup data. I used to know someone who could do almost anything with a computer...but my hacking skills are pretty limited, so I’d probably mess something up.” There was a self-deprecating smirk coloring his voice.

 

He turned back to MacCready, who stood at the ready, hoping he looked like he hadn’t been doing anything. Not that he could tell if Liam noticed; that (damn) gas mask revealed nothing.

 

“Ready to take on some super mutants?” There was a laughing edge to that question as he pulled out his assault rifle. “‘Cause I’m sure not.”

 

Well that was reassuring.

 

MacCready waited until Liam was out the door, pausing just long enough to draw his own rifle and make sure it had enough ammo in its clip. He nodded, jogging to catch up.

 

The empty syringe clinked quietly as he stashed it away.


	9. No gunfire in the library

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _“You can’t hide forever!”  
>  Chaos erupted._

It was like trying to follow a shadow through shadows.

 

How the hell did Liam do it? He wasn’t even wearing dark clothes!

 

He also had a habit of picking through everything they passed--desks, filing cabinets, hell, he’d even snatched up a Nuka Cola still sitting on a desk.

 

MacCready frowned to himself. He didn’t see a reason to pick up all that junk. The Nuka Cola he could understand, but…

 

Ok, that was a pair of scissors. What did he need with those?

 

He almost asked, too--

 

Heavy footsteps. Growing louder in the hallway. Getting closer to the side room they were hidden in...

 

Liam and he froze at the same time, wide eyes reflected in goggle lenses, before they both looked towards the doorway.

 

\---

 

Liam leveled his rifle at the door, waited until the hulking form was walking past, took aim for its back--

 

Embedded a bullet perfectly into the wall.

 

_Oh for the love of--_

 

A mass of stupid charged.

 

“You can’t hide forever!”

 

Chaos erupted.

 

_Pop pop pop--_

 

_Zap zap--_

 

_Pop pop pop pop--_

 

Two heavy thuds as the mutants went down.

 

Liam had no idea how many shots he had taken at them. He paused to catch his breath and get his nerves under control, glancing over his shoulder to locate MacCready.

 

More heavy footsteps.

 

_Shit_. They were far from done.

 

He leaned around a broken section of wall--

 

And had to duck back in as lasers just barely missed giving him a crew cut. He swore he could feel the heat through his gas mask as the red lit up the lenses.

 

The barrage of red filled the opening, almost daring him, _go on and peek your head out_.

 

There was a pause.

 

He took the chance.

 

Ducking into view, he let loose a hail of bullets, most of them missing their mark in the rush. He just kept firing, even as the lasers began again, gritting his teeth as one burned off more of the same shirt sleeve from earlier, this time searing the skin beneath.

 

Bullets whizzed over his head.

 

“Awaugh!”

 

A graceful cry if he ever heard one.

 

The firing ceased.

 

Liam lowered his rifle, staring in disbelief--and no small amount of amusement--at the sight before him.

 

“Impressed yet?” MacCready sounded smug. And he didn’t blame him.

 

“Very,” he answered honestly, tilting his head to better judge. “I think you embedded him into the wall...or he died standing up. Either way,” he flicked his head appreciatively. “Nice shot.”

 

He wanted to take a closer look. That one had died in the room across the hall, and there might be some interesting stuff around. Even if MacCready disagreed. (He hadn’t missed the odd looks he’d gotten when he’d found that pair of scissors. The metal could be useful, damn it!) But there was also a broken bit of floor in this current room that looked like it formed a slope they could climb down. If he had to clear this place out, it couldn’t hurt to explore a bit. There might be more things hidden down there. He headed that way, not missing the questioning frown he received. But MacCready followed silently nonetheless.

 

Turns out it led down to an interesting sight. He just...had to stop to admire it.

 

He’d never seen the library’s center courtyard at night before.

 

It was oddly beautiful. Even with the trees missing their leaves, the bushes overgrown, and that bench over there looking half-decayed…

 

“Huh. That’s...pretty.”

 

The sniper’s words held a hint of wonder. “Yea. It is, isn’t it,” he agreed.

 

“What? I hear somethin’...”

 

Crap. How had they missed that loud thudding? Sounded like another “big, dumb, and ugly” was in the hallway above. And the windows would offer a perfect view of the courtyard. Along with a pair of humans currently hunting super mutants.

 

“You hear nothing,” Liam whispered, mostly to himself, as they crept back out of the court, heading back into shadow. “You’re going deaf.” MacCready might’ve snorted quietly from somewhere behind him. “Common for old age.”

 

He paused.

 

Wait.

 

Technically he was…

 

“Agh. It was nothin’.”

 

_Two hundred and ten...plus..._

 

Pfft. Old indeed.

 

More like ancient.

 

They popped back up from the floor. Liam almost felt like a meerkat as he peered his head over to look around. The heavy footsteps were coming from the opposite direction. Must’ve walked past and decided to double back.

 

His assault rifle created a spray of red.

 

Perfect headshot.

 

_“Agh!”_

 

Except it didn’t go down.

 

He bit back a swear, painting the air as he shot again.

 

“I’m gonna drop ya, green boy!”

 

_What?_

 

Liam nearly faltered, hesitating just long enough to realize MacCready had lined up the last shot to take the brute down.

 

He blinked as the big guy landed with a thud, slowly turning towards the sniper as he reloaded his rifle.

 

“You’ve got quite a colorful vocabulary.

 

“…

 

“That wasn’t meant to be a pun.”

 

MacCready just snorted.

 

\---

 

They stared at the corpse wedged between the wall and door.

 

“You really did a number on this guy.”

 

No kidding.

 

MacCready idly wondered what would happen if he closed that door. Would they have a pile of stupid instead of a pylon of stupid? He smirked at his own joke, wondering if he should let his boss in on it. ...if he’d even notice. He was already heading out of the room after he’d found whatever loose ammo and caps there had been on the other _non-_ upright corpse.

 

He frowned in mild disappointed, but followed, trying once again to mirror the silent way Liam moved. His legs were going to hate him later. But he had to admit, it was easier to imitate since he was no longer aching after using that stimpak.

 

Not that he’d say out loud.

 

Instead, he kept his ears figuratively perked, remembering the mutant hound they’d heard earlier and hadn’t come across yet. They weren’t really stealthy per se, but they did move a lot quieter than their clumsy masters. He had enough bite marks to confirm that.

 

Liam seemed to be more focused on their goal as well, only ducking his head into side rooms long enough to check for more mutants--though he did catch the odd comment about “coming back here later” and “could be some good stuff in those cabinets”. (MacCready had rolled his eyes, picturing more scissors.)

 

Finally, they heard it. The padding of something big in the open space ahead. The hound snuffled at the air. It hadn’t seen them yet, hidden as they were in the shadows.

 

Dispatched quickly enough.

 

He was starting to get the hang of this. Liam was sticking to mid-range due to his rifle of choice, and since MacCready was a sniper who preferred to stay far back, he aimed over and around his more stealthy, almost-always-crouched-to-stay-hidden boss. It worked.

 

“Huh? What’s that?”

 

And sometimes it meant he didn’t get to see what was coming.

 

He rounded the corner in time to see Liam aiming a crude-looking rifle over a railing, taking out the head of an unaware super mutant. He frowned, feeling a little...put out. What the hell had Liam pulled out? It looked like a crappy pipe rifle, but he thought the scope might’ve been really high-tech? He’d had no time to really study it either before it was stashed away, switched back out for the assault rifle. What else was hidden in that bag of tricks?

 

_“Security breach neutralized. Visitors may now come and go as they please. All employees please return to work.”_

 

Yay?

 

“Seriously?” He caught Liam muttering under his breath. “It takes shooting a bunch of super mutants for you to like me? If I’d’ve known this back then--!” It was cut off by a frustrated sigh. “Fucking automated systems…”

 

Back then? Had he tried coming here before? He had mentioned forgetting there were protectrons, hadn’t he?

 

Maybe it was time to start asking questions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That took longer than planned. And they're still not done yet. 8|


	10. Book Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't wanna end at the same length as the others, so here, have a longer one than usual.

MacCready could probably start by asking, “What’s your fascination with junk?”

 

Because Liam picked up a lot of it.

 

_ A hell of a lot. _

 

Coffee mugs, desk fans, pens. He was surprised the guy didn’t pick up more scissors.

 

And he’d only just crossed the room to the chained doors on the other side.

 

MacCready followed close behind, if only because Liam had his pipboy light on and it made it easier to see in this dark room. Nothing to do with it being creepy in here.

 

Nope. Not at all.

 

Ah, crap. His nose was starting to itch. They must’ve kicked up a layer of dust and dirt walking in here--

 

He sneezed.

 

Ahead, he saw Liam’s shoulders twitch up as he turned towards him.

 

So he wasn’t the only one easily alarmed right now. That made MacCready feel better somewhat.

 

He brought up a hand to his face. “Agh, damn dust is going right up my nose.”

 

That earned him an exhaled snicker that seemed to dissipate the tension that had been leftover after all that sneaking around. “Glad I’m wearing a gas mask then.”

 

“Uh, yea...about that.” Is this really the time to bring this up? the logical part of his mind questioned. “What’s the deal with…” he trailed off, not sure how he would ask. Why did he even want to know anyway? It wasn’t like he wanted to disclose any information about  _ himself _ , so...why should he expect to learn anything about Liam? And for all he knew, this job was nearly done. They’d never set a limit on his hiring; usually his employer would have something specific in mind that they needed extra help with, or needed to get from Point A to Point B and wanted a guard or something. But it was usually  _ their _ idea; not something he ever laid out when detailing his payment terms. Something to think about whenever this job ended…

 

“Huh?” Liam glanced over his shoulder as he kept going forward, heading for the entryway they had come in from, and their main reason for coming here. “What?”

 

MacCready bit off a sound of frustration at himself. “...nevermind.”

 

The gas mask stayed pointed at him for a few more seconds, unnerving him a bit. “Ok…” And slid away to face the book return terminal screen as his boss focused his attention on it. He had sounded a bit confused. Maybe even disappointed.

 

The sniper nearly smacked himself for chickening out like that.

 

But it was probably a wise choice. He may not have been raised on having good manners, but even he knew you didn’t go up to someone and ask them, “Hey, why are you wearing a mask?” Unless you wanted to get shot, of course, and he rather liked not having any holes in his gut, thank you very much.

 

...though he got the distinct impression shooting him was the last thing Liam would do.

 

He was also spending more time on that terminal than MacCready’s patience liked. He’d already put the book in the return slot; why was he still on that thing? The sniper frowned.

 

“Find out anything useful, or just wasting our time aga--

 

He cut himself off when Liam leaned back from the terminal suddenly, as if struck by something. Then he just stared at the screen; head subtly shifting this way and that.

 

If there was ever a time he wished for that gas mask not to be obstructing the guy’s face…

 

The gas mask turned towards the hallway they had first gone down. “...gotta be enough here…”

 

He took off running.

 

MacCready stared after his possibly-crazed boss, torn for a split second whether to go after him.

 

_ Fu-- Screw it. _

 

He followed.

 

Through practically every room in the library, unable to actually catch up with the blonde; chasing after occasional sounds of triumph (“Aha!” “Yes!” “Alright, another one!” “Just a few more…”), and somehow making a loop around the whole library again.

 

MacCready stopped just outside of the data storage room where his employer had just darted into, taking advantage of its lack of other exit to catch his breath.  _ What...the hell… _

 

He nearly had to dive out of the way of crazy blonde as Liam rushed back out of the room, a book in each hand. He spared the sniper what might’ve been a curious look (damn gas mask) as he went past, heading for the entryway again.

 

MacCready bit back a groan of frustration, body protesting as he jogged after him again. He caught up just in time to see Liam counting out and inserting a bunch of book return tokens into the machine, and snatching up the item that popped out of the drop box in victory. He had to be grinning as he thumbed through its pages. “Alright, and still in good shape too.”

 

“Are you serious?” The sniper took another second for his breathing to level out. “You were freaking out that much? For a  _ comic book _ ?”

 

The gas mask shifted away almost sheepishly. “It’s a...useful comic book?”

 

He stared. “You could’ve just said that’s what you were doing. Heck, I love comics. I would’ve helped.”

 

“--wait.” He could practically hear the nonplussed blinking in Liam’s voice. “You do?”

 

“Heck yea. I used to collect them when I was a kid. Had a huge collection I had to leave behind when--” He paused. “I just had to leave behind,” he amended. Had to be more careful; he’d almost given away too much. He wasn’t even sure how much he could trust this guy yet.

 

The guy who had only pulled him out of death’s way twice. In one day.

 

To protect his investment maybe.

 

And he “invested” stimpaks, which cost caps.

 

Which he only did after finding extras…

 

Except that still costs caps. No one would just do that.

 

...and he was debating with himself in front of someone else. Great. Just great.

 

Either his long pause wasn’t really that long, or Liam hadn’t noticed (or was just hiding it behind that mask again). “Used to have a pretty good Grognak collection going myself, but...hm…”

 

But? MacCready furrowed his brow in curiosity. “What?” he prompted.

 

“I...lost it.”

 

Blink. “Lost it?”

 

“Yea.”

 

“The whole collection?”

 

A shrug. “Pretty much.”

 

“...how do you lose an entire collection?” What, did he drop his pack in a river or something?

 

The gas mask shifted away. “It’s...doable, ok.” There was definitely something there he wasn’t saying. But again, MacCready’s mind pointed out that it was probably best not to pry. At least not much.

 

Yet.

 

…

 

Why the hell did he want to know things anyway?

  
  


He figured he should give some kind of acknowledgement of Liam’s answer, though, so he settled for an unsure, “Ok…”

 

The blonde seemed to perk up a bit suddenly. “I did manage to find my favorite issue, though, so it’s not a  _ total _ loss.”

 

So...not dropped in a river and  _ actually _ misplaced then. He didn’t really know how to respond to that. How big had the collection been anyway?

 

“Anyway,” Liam continued as he carefully stashed what MacCready could now see was a Medical Journal comic (useful indeed) into his pack. Once it was secured, he faced the sniper again. “How about we pick through this place for anything useful and get the hell out of here?”

 

\---

 

His pipboy clock confirmed that it was now early in the morning as the light streaming in made him suspect.

 

A sleepless night once again.

 

Hopefully he could catch a nap somewhere to make up for it, or at the very least actually sleep the next night. It wouldn’t be ideal, but he would manage. He’d pulled enough all-nighters in the past to know. Hopefully MacCready would manage as well.

 

But Liam assumed that missing nights of sleep while on the road wasn’t an unheard of occurrence in the wasteland. It wasn’t always possible to find a safe place to bunker down after all.

 

He ignored the odd look he received as he stuffed a chess board into his pack. He was hoping to find something better than the assault rifle he was currently using, and it might need a better stock than the one it came with. The refined wood from a chessboard might come in handy.

 

No matter what a certain hired mercenary might think.

 

“Relax. It’s not like I’m going to make you carry any of this junk.”

 

A snort. “Damn right you’re not. The price for the ‘pack mule’ perk is way out of your league.”

 

“I don’t know.” His smirk went unseen. “I’m finding enough caps in all these desks.” He kicked at the form of a super mutant as they passed it. “Can’t say the same for all these shit-for-brains here. Unless you’d like to be paid in crude-looking boards.” He hefted up one of the roughly carved clubs for emphasis.

 

MacCready gave a dry “ha!”. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

 

“Suit yourself.” It hit the floor with a dusty clatter.

 

They continued on this manner until they reached the stairs by the front doors, where Liam had sniped the head off of a super mutant over the railing. The doors themselves were boarded up long ago, and didn’t look like they’d be easy to access.

 

But the subway entrance the automated system had mentioned should be down below.

 

And it could also be filled with more mutants. Their job might not actually be done yet.

 

“Lion statues, huh? Bet these scared all the kids.”

 

Liam glanced at the sniper trailing after him, following his eyes to where they gazed upon the giant green-tinted felines. “Actually, kids would try climbing them. ...or I’m pretty sure they did,” he quickly added on, hoping to cover his slip-up. He turned his gaze away, ignoring the odd look MacCready was sending him, as if he was trying to find all the edge pieces to a puzzle. “I know I would have when I was a kid.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yep.” He latched onto the show of interest, hoping to steer the conversation away as he headed down the stairs. “I always tried climbing the big tree in my parents’ yard when I was young.” He toed one giant green arm out of his path, stooping quickly to check for any salvageable loot as he continued. “One day, I finally made it to the top. I remember feeling so accomplished--(these guys only ever carry crap .38s; sell ‘em later I guess)--I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I looked down, feeling like the top of the world. ...annnnd promptly lost my grip, fell down, and broke my arm. Mom never let me go near that tree again. Probably worried I’d make a matching set,” he chuckled, ignoring the mixture of warmth and sadness from nostalgia pangs. “Of course...” He grunted as he rose to his feet, knees cracking a little. “...she’s long gone now.”

 

He didn’t really get much of a response to that. Just a sort of hummed acknowledgement. He flicked his head over his shoulder.

 

MacCready was looking at him...but not really. He seemed to be gazing past at something Liam couldn’t see, a thoughtful expression on his face.

 

A frown creased the blonde’s brow. “You okay?”

 

That seemed to snap the sniper out of whatever trance he’d been in, drawing back as a guarded scowl marred his face. “Yea. Fine,” he practically grunted.

 

Liam looked at him a few seconds longer, not really convinced...but decided it wasn’t really his business to pry. “Ok… Anyway,” He turned towards the doors ahead, nodding at the broken trail of super mutants littering the way there. There was even another trip wire one of them had set off. “It doesn’t look like we’re done yet, if that’s the way they came in.” He shot MacCready a sideways glance. “Up for killing some more super mutants?”

 

“Lead the way, Boss.”


	11. Subway of Regret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look, they're (technically) not in the library.

Ding dong. _“For your safety, please do not tamper with protectron stewards.”_

 

It was exactly how he remembered old subway systems to be. Cold, cramped, filled with dust and crap, and that annoying PA system that didn’t know when to quit.

 

MacCready tried to ignore all the familiarly of it and focus on the sneaking form of his boss in front of him instead.

 

Idly, he wondered what time it was. They had to have been traveling all night. A bit of light had started brightening up the bit of sky visible from the library’s windows before they’d come down here. He’d gone days without sleep before--not an experience he wished to relive or even remember given the reason for it at the time--so he could tolerate one night alright. Most nights he did get sleep weren’t even that great to begin with. Not exactly wise to sleep deeply in the wasteland, no matter where you found yourself for the night. Especially when alone…

 

His current employer didn’t seem to be missing any steps either; still as stealthy as he’d proven himself to be.

 

If Liam really was a vault dweller like the presence of a pipboy usually indicated, he must’ve been an experienced one to not be flagging after a restless night. Or he was good at hiding it.

 

Hell, it could be a mix of both.

 

They were halfway down a flight of stairs when he heard broken, gravelly voices.

 

And beeping.

 

_Shi--_

 

That usually meant…

 

And in this tight space?

 

_Double shi--crap._

 

“Hey,” MacCready dared the barest of whispers, hoping it was just loud enough for Liam to hear while still being low enough not to carry. “Maybe we shouldn’t bother with...”

 

Liam glanced back over his shoulder just before they both froze at a set of footsteps growing louder.

 

Along with the beeping.

 

He didn’t need to see Liam’s eyes to know they were just as wide as his must be.

 

Liam’s head turned back to the bottom of the stairs just as a leg came into view.

 

“What?”

 

Shit.

 

“ _Humannn!_ ” _Beep beep beepbeepbeepbeep_ \--

 

Shitshitshitshitshitshit--

 

_Blam blam blam blam--_

 

The super mutant went down with a squawk and a thump, tumbling back down the stairs as the blinking red light that had accompanied the beeping died down with the sound.

 

The nuke hit a step. Bounced a bit.

 

Rolled to a stop.

 

And sat there uncaring.

 

MacCready could feel his heart in his throat, and he swore Liam’s rifle was shaking from where it was still aimed at the unmoving form that had managed to charge halfway up the stairs. They could practically smell the stench of it from how close it had gotten.

 

But there was no time to breathe a sigh of relief. More heavy footsteps--and padding--were rushing their way.

 

By the end of it, they had great big pile of green consisting of three big, dumb, and uglies, and an only marginally less big, dumb, and ugly hound.

 

And a mini nuke that neither of them knew what to do with.

 

Liam stared down at it. “I...don’t suppose you want that?”

 

MacCready stared as well. “...I’ll pass, thanks.”

 

“...should we just leave it here?”

 

“Well, unless you have a protective case or something that won’t knock it around--which I doubt; I see how full your pack is getting from all the crap you keep cramming in it--(“Hey, this stuff is useful!”)--then I don’t think either of us can lay claim on it without risk of blowing up. And I don’t know about you, but I kind of _like_ not going out in a giant mushroom cloud, thank you very much.”

 

So that settled it. Neither of them took it.

 

Which was a shame since MacCready knew he could get quite the cap for it. But to essentially carry around a ticking time bomb just to get only marginally richer?

 

_Screw that._

 

The subway seemed to be caved in in places, so the tunnel didn’t go very far, but there was another set of stairs that seemed to lead out of here. Probably where the mutants had come in from.

 

One mutant guarding the top of the stairs later, and the place was clear. It had taken more than a few shots to bring that last guy down. Liam looked down at his assault rifle, turning it over a bit in his hands. “I’ve really gotta find something better than this…”

 

MacCready nearly rolled his eyes, instead rolling his shoulder to work out a few kinks. “Well, maybe it would help if you actually hit what you’re aiming at with more than half your shots…”

 

He could practically feel the heat of a hidden glare radiating off that gas mask. “This isn’t the kind of weapon I’m used to, alright.” He huffed, deflating a bit as he turned away to venture back into the main part of the subway. “Need to figure out how to mod this so it’s less clunky...or if I found a combat rifle...now that would be fucking awesome…” he muttered his thoughts to himself as he went for one of the Nuka Cola machines that still managed to have soda in it.

 

Unfortunately, it wasn’t far from one of the mutants’...typical form of “food storage”.

 

Ding dong. _“Please dispose of food waste in the marked receptacles.”_

 

“I guess no one told these guys that,” MacCready remarked past a wrinkled nose. That gas mask was looking appealing right now. He swore that smell was going to be stuck in his nose all day.

 

Liam looked up from his task and followed the direction MacCready was looking in. “...I’ll just save these for later. Ugh.” The sodas were stowed away with a clink as the blonde suppressed a shudder.

 

Aside from the soda, there wasn’t much worth noting. The typical stray caps in a trash can, shitty ammo on the bodies…

 

Oh, and two dead humans at the back of a train car where they had apparently set up shop in the chem-making business until a bunch of apparently book-crazed super mutants decided to shut that down. Sucky way to go, but that was the wasteland for you.

 

“Damn…”

 

He turned as Liam muttered.

 

“If we’d just gotten here a little sooner…”

 

MacCready raised a brow. “And did what? These people were practically dead the minute the super mutants found them. Nothing you can do when that happens, so why bother beating yourself up over it?”

 

Liam turned to look at him. “Because I _know_ I could have done something. Even if the chance is slim, it’s still worth trying.”

 

He frowned at the blonde. “Still. You didn’t even know these people. Why do you give a damn? Besides, shi--crap like this happens all the time.”

 

“Because if people in this world don’t look out for each other, then who else will?”

 

The sniper scoffed. “You mean people like the Minutemen? I don’t if you’ve noticed, but that kind of bullshi--err, crap didn’t get them very far. They’re practically wiped out now.”

 

The gas mask stared at him silently for a moment. It took all he had not to fidget before his employer finally spoke again. “The Minutemen are making a comeback…” The words were too quiet for MacCready to be sure if they were what Liam really said, but before he could even decide to ask, Liam was already exiting the train car, on his way for the exit.

 

The sniper was left blinking for a moment before he frowned, wondering just what the hell had happened.

 

\---

 

Damn it.

 

He’d overreacted. MacCready was right; why _did_ he give a damn?

 

_Because it’s the right thing. Because it’s what decent people would do. Because it’s human._

 

Or maybe it would’ve been right and what decent humans did in _his_ time; not this post-nuclear wasteland. And look, there was the rubbled outside world to remind him that this wasn’t the year 2077. It was 2287. _210 years_ into the future.

 

Sigh.

 

He was tired.

 

Liam flicked up his pipboy and brought up the map, ignoring the time shining in the corner that backed up how the sun was currently over the horizon and staining everything orange. _My kingdom for a nap._

 

He heard the door creak open again behind him, and the footsteps that followed, stopping a few feet away. He kept his focus on the small screen, not bothering to turn around as he sighed. “You don’t have to stick around if you don’t want to. I already dragged you through a building and a subway full of super mutants. You more than earned your pay.”

 

“True. But it hasn’t even been a day. My rate covers _at least_ a full 24 hours. Besides, your aim sucks. You need someone around who can actually shoot straight.”

 

Liam finally looked over his shoulder and took in MacCready’s tired but mostly guarded stance. It didn’t quite hide the slight guilt he could see peeking through the edges. He snorted. “Fair enough.” He glanced back down at the pipboy, going through his list of tasks and comparing them to their current location. “Well, first thing we can do is...go right around the corner apparently. Huh.” He looked up, seeing the twisted metal of the vertibird from last night--it felt like so long ago--still smoking a bit in the rising sun, filling up the intersection. “Forgot the police station was that close to the library.”

 

“...the hell do you wanna go there for?”

 

Liam smirked (unseen) at the mercenary. “Scavenger hunt.”


	12. Offbrand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Imitation is the biggest form of flattery...right?

He’d never been to Precinct 8, so maybe that was why he’d forgotten it was here.

 

It was mostly the place where drunkards were kept to wait out the night while the unfortunate cop on duty had to play “babysitter”. Being involved in the Eddie Winter case was probably the biggest thing to have come through their doors.

 

So now Liam was here to look for the bit of evidence they were still hopefully holding. One of ten holotapes Winter had recorded as evidence to “ice his rivals” and gain himself some good grace with the authorities. It had worked, much to the chagrin of Nick Valentine. Liam didn’t really blame him for being pissed about that. The guy had killed his...err, the past Nick Valentine’s fiancee. It was something the synth detective was forced to carry around due to having the old Nick’s memories in his system. Plus, Winter was basically a shit person, to put it bluntly. That case wouldn’t be closed until the guy was dead. Every tape got them closer to the passcode Eddie had used on his safe house, where he should still hopefully be, ghoulified to withstand the passing of time.

 

…

 

Except that might need to wait a little longer.

 

Liam squinted into the fog that had decided to gather this morning, made more difficult to see through with the still-rising sun staining it a muddy orange.  _ Who…? _

 

He pulled out his sniper rifle, a really crude pipe rifle he had modified so he could at least shoot things at farther range. It was kind of crap, but if you caught someone just right--like in the soft spot where a super mutant’s head joined its neck--you could easily take them down without them being the wiser. Also helped that he’d installed a really high-tech scope on it that was more computer than magnifier. That had been a great find.

 

He brought it up to his eye, ignoring the curious stares MacCready was shooting him--or the rifle. He hardly cared.

 

And lowered it again, feeling confusion color his own face. “Preston?”

 

“Someone you know?” MacCready was understandably suspicious.

 

“I…yea, he's… Wait.” He frowned. “That's not…”

 

He had thought something seemed a little off when he’d look through the scope (and mostly blamed on the fog). But as Preston got closer, the details were starting to point a different way…

 

The outfit for one--simple Minutemen button-up shirt and trousers. The hat not being pinned up on the side for another. Not a big deal really. The guy couldn't possibly be so formally dressed all the time. But the most obvious odd detail was the guy’s height.

 

He was too short.

 

Unless Preston had found the key to eternal youth and gone backwards ten years, this was definitely  _ not _ Preston Garvey.

 

Liam narrowed his eyes, holding his ground for now. Might as well see what this guy was up to first.

 

“Hey man,” he called out in a voice that was most definitely  _ not _ Preston Garvey’s. “I don’t think we’ve met, but your timing’s impeccable. Preston Garvey.”-- _ Oh no you're fucking not. _ \--“Commonwealth Minutemen.”

 

Liam was almost speechless from growing irritation. It was probably a good thing the guy couldn’t see his face so he had no knowledge of just  _ how _ much annoyance Liam was failing to hold back right now. (Part of the reason he wore the mask; he was still out of practice.) For the moment, he kept control of his voice, deciding to play dumb (and curious, but that part wasn’t hard) to see what this guy’s game was. “...Minutemen?”

 

Imposter walked right into it, eagerly explaining. “We protect the people at a minute’s notice. That’s the idea anyway. Hence, the name ‘Minutemen’.”  _ Never would’ve guessed, dumbass. _ Just because he was trying to play this for information didn’t mean he couldn’t let his mind express his real feelings. “You might’ve heard we’re making a comeback.”

 

“Are you now?” MacCready had decided to chime in with a skeptical brow raise, pointing it in Liam’s direction meaningfully.

 

Liam barely gave him a glance before focusing on the bigger thorn in his side that continued on speaking.

 

“Indeed we are. In fact, the General sent me to collect donations from concerned citizens like yourself.”

 

“Oh,  _ did _ he?” That wasn’t supposed to be said out loud, but oh well. It was  _ really _ good that his face was hidden so no one could see how high his brows were over his widened eyes. It was a mildly alarming mixture of sarcastic amusement and building rage. MacCready frowned curiously.

 

Imposter’s charming smile wavered for a second, but he was a stubborn one, carrying right on and sounding a little too practiced. “Help us out, and you can count on the Minutemen to be there when you need us. Can I put you down for, say, a hundred caps?”

 

Oh, this guy was too much. It was almost cute how hard he was trying.

 

Almost.

 

“Ok, just…” He held up a hand, trying to knock the sarcastic humor back. “I need to stop you right there.”

 

The guy blinked. “Come again?” Obviously he hadn’t expected that response. Just how many people had that routine worked on?

 

“First off, you’re giving the Minutemen a bad name. If you could lose the outfit so you’re not associated with us, that would be great, thanks.”

 

Widening eyes flicked over Liam with recognition at finally noticing the similar outfit he wore under the armor pieces. He missed MacCready’s look of realization as he double taked between the two of them.

 

“Second off, if you’re going to impersonate someone, at least get the details right.”

 

“What’re you--”

 

Here Liam let some of the building irritation seep into his voice, turning serious. “You’re not Preston Garvey.”

 

Not-Preston was taken aback. “Say what, man?”

 

“I  _ know _ Preston Garvey.  _ You _ aren’t Preston Garvey.”

 

He shrank back. “Oh shit.”

 

“Do you even know the General?” The guy blinked, about to open his mouth. “Actually, don’t answer that. If you did, you’d  _ know _ just how much shit you stepped in.” Liam pointed down the street, keeping the stern tone as if scolding a child. Which this guy practically was. “Now get out of here.”

 

The guy twitched, flicking his eyes to the side. But he didn’t move.

 

The blonde narrowed his eyes, allowing more irritation to seep through.  _ “Go.” _

 

That got him moving.

 

Liam turned to watch him as he disappeared into the fog, no longer glowing with the orange of sunrise.

 

And released a heavy sigh.

 

“I am so done with today, and it’s not even noon.” He flicked up the pipboy, biting back another sigh. “Hell, it’s not even nine.”

 

“You’re just gonna let him go?”

 

Liam looked up from checking the time, seeing MacCready had turned to watch the imposter flee down the street.

 

“Yea…” he sighed out. He couldn’t seem to  _ stop _ sighing. “Not really worth it to go after him. Hopefully he didn’t hit too many people and we can fix whatever damage has been done.”

 

“I think you nearly made the guy piss himself.”

 

He snorted. “Probably.”

 

The sniper’s face took on an unreadable expression. “So the Minutemen really are back then…”

 

Liam tilted his head in confirmation. “Indeed we are. Pretty much Preston’s doing. The  _ real _ Preston that is,” he added on with a wry smirk.

 

“Huh. And here I thought it was just a rumor. Hell, not even Piper’s written anything about it yet. On the bright side,” the mercenary remarked sarcastically, “if you’ve got some guy impersonating him to collect money, that means word is starting to get around.”

 

The blonde let out a dry laugh. “I guess so. Anyway, let’s just…” He threw a hand in the general direction ahead as he walked towards the police station. “Let’s just keep going. I don’t have time for this shit right now.”

 

He also had a radroach about to jump at his face.

 

\---

 

MacCready scraped his boot on the doorframe, trying to remove the bits of radroach that had gotten stuck.

 

Nasty things.

 

Too small to waste a bullet on--except maybe that glowing bugzilla that he swore could’ve taken his head--but big enough to leave a disgusting ooze when they got smashed. Just another thing to crust up his boots. Geologists would probably have a field day going through the different layers.

 

He’d wanted to ask Liam about that conversation he’d had with the kid back there before this interruption. The most apparent thing he’d figured out was why the guy’s clothing had been so familiar this whole time. Of course it was a Minutemen outfit! He wanted to smack himself at how obvious it was now. (Though to be fair, it  _ was _ half-covered in armor pieces. One of which was a Brotherhood of Steel chest piece; couldn’t forget that glaring detail. He might need to give in and ask about that, too, while he was at it.)

 

And the Minutemen, one of the few organizations that genuinely fought for the people without expecting anything in return, was starting to make a comeback. Pretty crazy after MacCready had heard about how they had gone downhill. Word was, they had fallen apart from the inside. Some slow or sudden corruption among their ranks; no one knew the exact details. Was Liam one of its original members, brought back in to try to re-bolster the ranks? Or a fresh face (so to speak), chosen because he fit the original image? It definitely explained the whole attitude of wanting to help people so damn much.

 

Also…

 

MacCready looked over at the blonde, tapping away at a terminal in the small office this sad excuse for a precinct had.

 

Liam had asked the Preston imposter if he really knew the general. Was this Preston guy their new general?

 

_ Nah _ , MacCready shook his head.  _ That wouldn’t make sense. _

 

If Preston  _ was _ their new general, then the kid wouldn’t have said the General had sent him out while he was pretending to be Preston. What was it Liam had said…

 

_ “If you did know the General, you would  _ know _ just how much shit you stepped in.” _

 

…

 

Wait…

 

Did that mean…?

 

MacCready felt his eyes widen at a sudden realization.

 

He looked at the blonde again, seeing him tapping at his pipboy now as he glanced between it and the terminal screen.

 

Was Liam…?

 

It was the only conclusion that made sense. After what he’d said back there...

 

Liam had to be the new Minutemen General!

 

_ You’ve gotta be effing kidding me. _


	13. Case File

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam was an odd guy. Did he mention that already?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When it feels like the characters are ripping the story out of your control...

Liam marked down South Boston and Natick as possible locations for more holotapes.

 

They were slowly but surely getting there. Unfortunately, the holotape he was hoping to find in this station was currently marked as missing. And even more unfortunate, the scheduled sweep to find said tape was supposed to take place on October 23. Meaning the tape had never been found.

 

_ Guess we’re doing the sweep instead. _

 

At least it was a small precinct.

 

He pushed back from the desk, turning towards the sniper to let him in on the...he hesitated to call it “bad” news.

 

Except MacCready was looking at him oddly.

 

Liam flicked his eyes away for a second (not that the sniper could see). “What? Is there something on my fa--” he cut himself off with a nod to the side. “...dumb question. But seriously, you ok?”

 

That seemed to snap him out of...whatever it was, morphing MacCready’s face into its usual frown that might’ve been a little too guarded. “Yea. Fine.”

 

_ Right. _

 

He looked at the mercenary for a few seconds, frowning at the obvious mask (and the attempt to not to squirm under his gaze), but once again decided not to pry. “Ok, if you say so…

 

“ _ Anyway _ ,” The blonde went back to the reason they had come here, turning his face towards the terminal for emphasis. “Seems the item we came here for went missing before the war.” He turned towards MacCready again. “So we’re going to have to search this station.”

 

A brow was quirked in his direction. “And  _ what _ exactly are we looking for?”

 

“A holotape. Shouldn’t be too hard to find in a place like this, but,” he shrugged. “Might as well split up so we can find it faster.”

 

MacCready grunted in what he assumed was reluctant agreement...but he couldn’t help noticing the guy was still looking at him funny.

 

Maybe if he approached this delicately. “You know…if something’s on your mind, it couldn’t hurt to share. But only if you want to, of course.”

 

The sniper frowned, dare he say, almost cutely, as if unsure of what to make of the words as he looked away in silence for a few moments. Liam didn’t say anything else, letting him seemingly have a silent debate with himself. Finally, MacCready spoke. “So…” he began, almost needing to force the words free. “What you told that kid back there…”

 

“Yea?”

 

MacCready frowned down at the ground for a moment, before he narrowed his eyes a little with an almost imperceptible nod. He raised his head again, almost perfectly meeting Liam’s eyes through the mask without realizing it. “How well do you know the General?”

 

Liam blinked behind the mask, feeling his mouth start to twist into a half smile-half smirk.  _ That’s an interesting question to ask. _ So he might as well give an interesting answer. “As well anyone can know themself, I’d say.”

 

The mercenary’s eyes--a dark blue, he only now noticed--widened a bit. “So you  _ are _ the General of the Minutemen.”

 

“What do you think?”

 

“I think you’re a strange guy with too many ideals that don’t fit the wasteland.”

 

“So…?”

 

“So who else would lead a weird group like that?”

 

Liam couldn’t help but smirk, even if it went unseen. “You make a good argument.” The smirk melted away just as fast. “Does that bother you; me being the General?”

 

“Why? You’re still the same guy.” His face took on a calculating expression that might not have been completely serious. “...though I might be tempted to charge you extra.”

 

“Ha!” Liam barked out. “Tell you what, how about we add on another term to the agreement.” MacCready gave him what he assumed was an “I’m listening” frown, so he continued. “We split any ammo and caps we find, and you get half of the money from anything we sell.”

 

The sniper nearly lost his brows beneath his cap. “Are you shi--kidding me?”

 

The blonde blinked. “What?” He flicked his eyes away for a second. “Not good enough, or…?”

 

MacCready had yet to fully retrieve his brows as he nearly cut off the question. “More like more than I expected.”

 

Liam’s brow furrowed. The guy sounded so shocked. Was it really too…? “Well, I figured it like this. The value of your pretty well-modded sniper rifle, plus whatever ammo you’ve been using… That easily pushes 250 caps. Not to mention how dangerous it’s already been, and it hasn’t even been a full day...” He raised a hand in a shrugging gesture. “Hardly seems worth it.”

 

When MacCready continued to stare at him a little slack-jawed, he just shrugged again. “I’m pretty good with money.”

 

Stare. “You don’t say.”

 

Except that wasn’t really a yes or not to his offer. “So…?”

 

MacCready blinked.

 

“Sound like a good deal?” he tried again.

 

“Uh.” Another blink. “Yea, I guess…”

 

Liam nodded, satisfied. “Alright then. Let’s get started with searching this station. I’m sure we’ll at least find some ammo while we look for this tape.”

 

\---

 

It was odd.

 

No one had offered to split the loot before. But then…

 

MacCready glanced over from the desk he was going through, watching Liam rifle through a filing cabinet.

 

...Liam was an odd guy.

 

They hadn’t known each other long, barely had any trust built up, and yet...Liam seemed to give a damn. Definitely a Minuteman--their General, he reminded himself--but this went beyond that; it seemed like more than a Minuteman would do for some stranger. And they really were strangers. Not even business partners. Just a merc hired by a client.

 

It was bizarre just looking through this desk and finding ammo. Nothing beyond what he would do, but not something he’d do under anyone’s employ. Or if he did, he was expected to hand over whatever he found. He wasn’t hired to scavenge; he was hired to shoot things while the other person did the looting. The fact that on this job, he didn’t need to sneak to keep anything he found was just… He couldn’t wrap his head around it.

 

One thing he was certain of, though. The holotape wasn’t in this room. Or in the office that they’d already searched. All that was left was the cells.

 

Liam stood at the mouth of the hall--if it could even be called that--where the meager amount of barred rooms were contained, regarding them with a tilted head. “So...I’ll take left, you take the right?” There was a definite sign of a brow raise in his voice.

 

MacCready shrugged. “Sure.” Made no difference to him.

 

There wasn’t much in the cells either. Or nothing in the first one anyway. Just a bench and a bucket, and what might’ve been an old newspaper. Mentioned something about some “Eddie Winter” guy. He’d seen copies all over the place; most of them weren’t completely legible. Apparently he’d been some crime boss from before the war who’d spilled the dirt on his accomplices so he could get off scot free. MacCready didn’t really care; made for a good story, but it was in the past. He moved on to the next cell.

 

“Oy, MacCready.”

 

And promptly stopped to look over at his boss standing in the bathroom at the end of the hall.

 

“Check this out.”

 

...was he...pointing in a toilet?

 

He sent the blonde a raised brow. “I know what a shi--err, a crapper is, thanks.”

 

“What?” Liam withdrew, sounding caught off guard. “No, that’s not what-- Look, just--” He waved the sniper over more vigorously. “--just get over here, would you?”

 

Feeling the urge to roll his eyes, MacCready decided to humor the guy. He was paying him really well now; might as well see what had him so excited.

 

…

 

Was that corn?

 

MacCready stared, brain failing to process what it was taking in.

 

What the hell were ears of corn doing in the toilet of a pre-war police precinct?

 

“So…” He slowly raised his eyes towards the gas mask as Liam spoke. “You think this is evidence of how hard it is to digest corn?”

 

He couldn’t help the snort that escaped. “What the fu--”

 

_ BOOOOM-- _

 

“What--”

 

Liam dropped into a crouch, pulling a startled MacCready with him who nearly lost his balance.

 

They stared towards the open doorway of the station as the loud clatter of metal and debris rained down. Was someone attacking? Had another vertibird gone down? Maybe the super mutants had reinforcements. They weren’t far from the library after all--

 

**_BOOOOOOOOOOM--_ **

 

MacCready flinched back, making himself smaller as he almost hid behind his employer. Liam kept his face towards the door, the hand still on the sniper’s shoulder helping to ground him--and perhaps himself as well?--grip tightening a little, but not enough to actually hurt.

 

That had been too close for comfort.

 

“What’s the Brotherhood doing? Playing vertibird  _ lawn darts? _ ”

 

MacCready furrowed his brow, blinking in confusion. “The hell are ‘lawn darts’?”

 

“Huh?” Liam glanced at him, seeming surprised as if he’d forgotten he was there...or that his hand was on the sniper’s shoulder, as he removed it almost apologetically. “Um. It’s…” He grasped for words. “It’s a pre-war game I know of.” He waved the same hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it; it’s not important.”

 

The sniper frowned, not exactly satisfied with the answer. But he let it slide for now, filing it away as another weird thing for the list...and noticed another thing he might add on to said list.

 

A ring glinted on Liam’s finger. Had that always been there?

 

But the blonde was moving away now, not leaving any chance to study it further. Though he was pretty sure it looked like a wedding band…

 

“Ha. Paydirt.”

 

He blinked, realizing he was still crouched in hiding in a pre-war bathroom. MacCready hurried to follow, still keeping his ears open in case those explosions drew unwanted attention.

 

Liam was already pulling open the barred door of the nearest cell--the one MacCready had been about to check, in fact--his prize in sight on the bench.

 

Another frown took its place on his face. “So that’s it then?” He knew they were looking for a holotape, but the little orange and white square seemed a little underwhelming for how important his boss had made it seem.

 

“Seems like.” The tape was snatched up, turned a few times in the dim light to inspect, before it was snapped into Liam’s pipboy. A second later, a man’s recorded voice started to play.

 

_ “Message to Rodrigo Palimar…” _

 

The guy went on about some “Fallon’s” job and this “Rodrigo” fellow getting zero dollars for it. A few more details were laid out, ringing some familiar bells in MacCready’s head, but he couldn’t ping why yet…

 

_ “...Eddie Winter, signing off.” _

 

…!

 

Of course!

 

MacCready resisted the urge to slap his fist into his other hand in realization. The article in those old newspapers. Eddie Winter, the crime boss who had filched on his old “friends”. This must be one of his holotapes; the way he’d gained favor with the cops. But...it was old news…

 

Liam nodded, “One more down,” popping out the holotape and stashing it away into his pack.

 

MacCready frowned in thought. Why was Liam collecting the tapes? What did he need them for? And…“one more down”? Exactly how many of these did he have? And how many more were there?

 

The blonde turned back to him, a bit of a perk in his step. “Well, looks like we’re done...here…” He trailed off, head tilting slightly. “Is something wrong?”

 

He stared for a moment, calculating. “Are you a history buff or something?”   
  
“Um…” Liam looked away for a second before looking back. “Sort of. Why?”

 

He felt like that was a heavier answer than the words hinted at. “You’re collecting the Winter tapes, right? That case has been cold for over 200 years.”

 

The gas mask slowly tilted the other way. MacCready felt like his soul was being judged, as if Liam was figuring out his worth or something. Finally, the silence was broken. “It’s not that cold of a case.”

 

The hell did that mean? The frown didn’t seem to want to leave the sniper’s face.

 

Liam just sighed. “Look. I’d tell you more, but…” He gestured helplessly, trying to grasp at the right words. “...it’s not really my...case...to talk about. Alright?”

 

The frown stayed in place...but MacCready grunted, relenting. He could understand that. He had his own secrets he didn’t exactly want to spill after all. And if this guy was protecting someone else’s secrets, well… “Yea. Fine. I get it. But if I end up getting involved in something dangerous, I expect to be told the details, got it?”

 

Liam’s tone was a lot more cheerful when he answered, taking on an almost joking lilt. “You got it, partner.”

 

...wait.

 

Did he just…?

 

But Liam was already walking past him, pulling up his pipboy to glance at. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I could use something to eat. What say we hit up Diamond City? It’s just down the next street after all…”


	14. An Outsider's Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mmmm Power Noodles.

MacCready’s stomach grumbled appreciatively.

 

He hadn’t realized how hungry he was until he was faced with a bowl of noodles, half of it disappearing in seconds with enough gusto that he almost spilled the broth down his front.

 

_ Almost. _

 

No way he’d waste something as sacred as one of Takahashi’s famed noodle bowls.

 

It hadn’t been their first stop. Hell, Liam had hardly stuck around after grabbing a bowl, and he had no idea where the blonde went. Just that he “needed to check in with someone” and would be back in a bit. And before the noodles…

 

MacCready was surprised at how easily they’d gotten into Diamond City. It wasn’t his first trip here, so he knew how it worked. But it had also been quite some time, so he doubted they would trust him on sight, what with the air of “merc” he gave off. Heck, Liam gave a veritable  _ stench _ of merc riff raff with those random, mismatching armor pieces. And the gas mask. Couldn’t forget about the gas mask.

 

But they’d let the two of them walk in without any question (except for the suspicious looks he was sure were behind at least a few of those catcher’s masks), nodding to Liam as he passed. One of them had even looked ready to shake his hand! What the hell…

 

MacCready had barely processed that oddness when Liam mentioned wanting to lighten his pack before they grabbed some grub. So off to the vendors they went.

 

And  _ damn _ , had it been a sight.

 

Here this guy was, looking like some cobbled together--though oddly well-groomed--raider, and yet...there he went, haggling away with every trader in town, passing off the random bits and pieces he’d insisted on picking up.

 

MacCready had never seen so many caps passed over at once in his life. (Except maybe what he handed to Daisy to safely deliver for him, but even then, those took weeks or sometimes  _ months _ for him to collect!) He’d found himself snapping his mouth shut more than once as the disbelief mounted.

 

And then again as Liam kept the promise he’d made about splitting the caps from selling the loot.

 

MacCready was starting to see the merit of collecting junk…

 

He came up for air finally, already contemplating getting a second bowl, as he glanced in the direction he was sure Liam had gone. There wasn’t much of interest back that way if he remembered right. Mostly residential, but he was pretty sure the greenhouse and gardens were that way, as well as the platform where Mayor McDoucheba--err, McDonough liked to do his speeches from time to time. And also--he couldn’t ignore the glow of neon pointing around the corner--there was Valentine’s office.

 

_ Detective _ Valentine.

 

Hmm...

 

_ “It’s not really my case to talk about…” _

 

He wondered…

 

MacCready frowned, returning to his noodles at a much slower rate, chewing almost absentmindedly.

 

Now that he thought about it, Nick  _ had _ been at the Third Rail when Liam had showed up. He’d met the blonde at the doorway to the VIP Lounge right after their initial conversation. But the synth hadn’t been around when the guy came back around a week later to hire him...

 

Even if it wasn’t related to the case Liam was on, something was definitely going on (or had gone on?), and he was curious to find out.

 

“Now here’s a face I didn’t expect to see.”

 

MacCready blinked, snapping his attention to the side. A familiar worn red leather coat greeted him, stepping up to the noodle stand. “Hey Piper.” It wasn’t exactly an enthusiastic greeting.

 

She just rolled her eyes as if she had expected a response like that. “Nice to see you, too, MacCready. Haven’t really seen you around in awhile. What brings you to Diamond City?”

 

“What, I can’t drop by to enjoy the charm and the stuffy rules set by its even stuffier mayor?”

 

“Ha!” She laughed as sarcastically as his answer had been. “Or to stuff your face with noodles, more like?”

 

He shrugged. “Hey, can’t knock Power Noodles. These are probably the best thing in the Commonwealth.”

 

She shook her head appreciatively. “Ain’t that the truth.” Piper dropped the joking tone, sobering suddenly. “But in all seriousness, what brings you to town? You know the mayor isn’t a fan of mercenaries looking for work in Diamond City.”

 

MacCready just shrugged again. “Working right now actually.”

 

She gave a flat look. “By stuffing your face with noodles.”

 

He scoffed. “More like waiting for my client to come back from an errand he needed to run.”

 

“So you really are still doing the mercenary thing then. Don’t you want to find something more, I don’t know,  _ stable _ ? Safer at least?”

 

He pulled a face. “You mean like standing behind a counter all day buying and selling crap, or pestering people with questions hoping they’ll actually answer instead of telling me to screw off? Where’s the fun in that?” The incredulous scowl morphed into a frown. “What’s with the questions anyway? Were you hoping to interview me or something?”

 

Piper scoffed. “Ha, you wish. Although...” Her eyes flicked to something over his shoulder. “Speaking of interviews…” Her voice rose to call out towards what she had spotted. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite news article.”

 

The sniper turned in his seat. There was Liam coming back from around the corner, looking up from his pipboy after the reporter had called out. Lowering it as he walked, the blonde gave a flat, “Nice to see you, too, Piper,” from behind the gas mask as he approached the noodle stand.

 

“Took your time, didn’t you,” the sniper remarked dryly. No need to ask if his boss and the reporter knew each other. Piper seemed to know everybody.

 

He got a shrug in reply. “Meeting went a little longer than planned.” Sounded like he really had met up with Valentine then. Pointed more towards it being his case Liam was following up. But what interest did the synth have in a 200 year old case? As far as cold cases went, that made it iced.

 

“Yea, well, maybe warn me next time.”

 

Piper seemed to be giving the two of them a scrutinizing frown, looking between them as if puzzling some pieces together. “Wait a second here…you mentioned waiting for your client to get back…” She looked past the merc. “Blue, did you actually hire a mercenary?”

 

MacCready frowned.  _ Blue? _

 

Apparently she meant Liam, as he answered her query. (The sniper would need to ask about the odd nickname.) “I might have.” He sounded amused, in an “I dare you to challenge me” way. “Why? Is that a bad thing?”

 

“Well, I won’t deny you hired the best gun in the Commonwealth to watch your back. Can’t say the same about personality though…”

 

“Hey!”

 

It might’ve been his imagination, but MacCready thought he heard soft snickering from behind that mask. “I’ve run with worse.” The laughing tone backed this up.

 

“You should know people will talk about what the new leader of the Minutemen is up to.”

 

He shrugged. “Mostly good things, I would hope.”

 

“That depends.” Hands went to her hips as she pointed a raised eyebrow at the blonde. “Being seen at the Memory Den does get people wondering after all...”

 

MacCready raised a brow at this, turning his attention back to Liam. He had been feeling like a third wheel in this conversation, but now it was starting to get interesting enough that he didn’t mind as much.

 

The gas mask turned in a way that made it obvious he was scrutinizing her right back. “Nick wouldn’t tell you anything, would he.”

 

_ What wouldn’t he tell?? _

 

She held up her hands in surrender. “Guilty as charged.” The wry smirk was definitely not one of guilt.

 

MacCready was missing something here. Did this have to do with why Valentine had been absent later on? Too many things to add to the list. He might need to start writing it down.

 

“I’m not about to spill either, so…”

 

She played off the disappointment like it was nothing, but MacCready knew how nosy she could be. Whatever it was Liam was refusing to say had to be a big letdown. “Ah, well...guess I’ll have to settle for an article about the Minutemen’s comeback then.” She shrugged, continuing to think out loud. “Probably poke my head in a couple of settlements that have given their support…”

 

Liam perked up at that. “Speaking of…” He turned towards the mercenary. “We ran into a possible...hitch you could say.”

 

A light bulb went off in the sniper’s head, catching on to where Liam was heading. “Right. That kid near the precinct.” The Preston wannabe. “Nearly shi--ah, crapped himself when he was found out.”

 

“I gave him a warning.” A very stern warning that had scared the guy a few shades lighter. “It was some guy that looked a lot like Preston Garvey, so he was pretending to be him. Taking advantage of his approachable nice-guy attitude. He was swindling people out of their caps, convincing them he was collecting donations for the Minutemen under orders of the General. Do you think could maybe...put a warning in your next issue of  _ Publick Occurrences _ ? Make sure people realize there could be scams they should watch out for, and that the Minutemen never directly ask for donations like that?”

 

Piper blinked a few times. “Huh. Yea, I guess I could. Might need to take a few liberties to make the article more interesting so people will actually take it seriously, but…” She shrugged, the beginnings of a smirk hitting her face. “Yea, sure. I could do that.”

 

Liam nodded, sounding a little relieved. “Thanks, Piper.”

 

She waved him off. “Yea, yea. Think nothing of it. Still would’ve liked to know what happened at the Memory Den, but.” Another shrug. “Can’t win everything.

 

“Anyway, looks like I’ve got some writing to do, so I’ll leave you guys to it. Try not to get into  _ too _ much trouble out there.”

 

“Pot. Kettle.”

 

Piper snorted. “I don’t know the origin of that saying, but, yea, yea, I get your point.” She threw a wave-salute as she turned to walk off. “Later, Blue. Try not to be a stranger. And I guess the same goes for you, MacCready.” With that, she turned in the direction of  _ Publick Occurrences _ .

 

As soon as she was out of earshot, MacCready turned towards Liam with a raised brow. “Blue?”

 

“Ah. Yea. It’s a…” Liam fidgeted a bit. “...nickname she likes to use.”

 

He just kept staring with a raised brow until the blonde took the hint and conceded.

 

“She said it’s because I’m a vault dweller.” He threw up his hands. “I wasn’t even wearing the suit at the time, but, there you go. Stuck since we met.”

 

His assumption based on the pipboy was right then. But Liam’s combat skills were far better than a “fresh from the vault”, so that brought him back to wondering how long ago he’d left. Or maybe he’d been part of their security team or something. Liam had said assault rifles weren’t what he was used to using which meant he  _ did _ have weapon experience. A question for another time though; better to go simple first. “What vault anyway?”

 

“111.” No hesitation. It was like he’d expected the question.

 

“Huh. Can’t say I’ve heard of that one.”

 

Shrug. “Not surprising. Most people haven’t.” And he didn’t bother to elaborate.

 

The sniper blinked, curiosity eating at him. “There a reason for that?” He wasn’t sure he actually wanted to know, but. That list of things to figure out nagged at him. “Do people just...not leave or something?”

 

“It’s…” Liam slowly turned his head away. “...complicated…” The mask pointed back a short moment later. “How closely do you follow Piper’s news articles?”

 

MacCready frowned, wondering where this was going. “We manage to get copies in Goodneighbor from time to time. Couriers don’t always find it easy to get over there, so we have missed a few,” he explained. “Why?”

 

The mask stayed steady on him. “What’s the last issue you read?”

 

The frown deepened in curious suspicion, but he gave the question some thought. If it was late November now… “Little under a month ago maybe? There was some interview in it with...” The frown eased up as the details trickled back in.

 

Hold up.

 

That guy’s name had been…

 

_ No way… _

 

Liam was…?

 

_ No freaking way. _

 

He was 200 years old??

 

Liam sighed, apparently reading the sniper’s thoughts off his face. “Well. That’s one cat out of the bag I guess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s official. They’ve taken control from me. I WASN’T GONNA WRITE THAT CONVERSATION YET, DAMN IT. D8<


	15. Information Overload

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MacCready adds a few more pieces to the puzzle.

He had assumed MacCready already knew.

 

Hell, most people did. That issue of  _ Publick Occurrences _ had been really popular apparently. Liam had gotten more comments on its contents than he could count. Not to mention the looks of sympathy about his missing son, and how his words of “taking it one day at a time” were something people could relate to.

 

And that had just been on the first day.

 

The comments had eased off since then, but every so often, somebody would recognize him from that paper and say something along those same lines.

 

And then he’d rescued Nick and a new set of comments had begun. Those might take a little longer to wear off, it sounded like.

 

Not to mention the new set of staring that was currently walking behind him.

 

He ignored it. MacCready probably didn’t even realize he was doing it. And not that he blamed him. It wasn’t everyday you learned the guy who had hired you was from before nuclear hell was unleashed on the world over 200 years ago.

 

He wondered if the sniper remembered the part in the paper about his son being kidnapped. It hadn’t been mentioned when they had talked in Diamond City’s marketplace, and honestly, Liam was a little hesitant to ask. It was more than he wanted to dump onto the guy right now. Maybe bringing up the paper had been a bad idea, period.

 

He probably still had a copy of that special edition on him even. And...yep, there it was--a quick look in his pack told him--still neatly folded from where he’d stowed it away after a quick read. Piper had a done a good job on it, not mincing his words in the slightest. It had been the reason he had gotten word to her about that imposter Preston. She made sure to get the truth out to people; a quality that had been hard to find in reporters of the past.

 

...and that staring was getting a little hard to ignore.

 

Liam sighed. “Two forty.”

 

There was a misstep behind him. “What?”

 

“Two hundred and forty,” he repeated a little clearer. “That’s my exact age if you wanna get technical. I was thirty before the war.”  _ And before I’d been stuffed into a freezer without my consent. _

 

Fucking Vault-Tec.

 

He thought of the ghoul in Goodneighbor he had recognized. That yellow trench coat and hat--somehow still in perfect condition--had been unmistakable.

 

Not even the recruiters sent out to sign people up for their vaults knew what that company had done. Were there other vaults as fucked up as 111? How many other people had they screwed over in some way?

 

“...guess it explains how weird you are.”

 

Now it was Liam’s turn to misstep. “Huh?” He glanced back at the sniper. “Um, not really.” He faced his head forward again, watching for debris in the road (and listening for approaching danger). “If you’re looking for a time capsule of a few centuries ago, you got the wrong guy. I’m weird even for my time.”

 

There was a scoff. “I’m sure people gave a damn more than they do now.”

 

He thought about it for a second, frowning, and ultimately concluded, “Not really, no.”

 

He glanced back again at the incredulous silence that earned, seeing it clearly painted on MacCready’s face. The guy was like an open book sometimes. “What? I’m serious. The world was pretty much going to hell. And,” He threw his arms to his sides, gesturing at the rubble and crumbling buildings around them. “Look where it is now. This is the result of people not giving a damn.

 

“I mean, it didn’t start out that way.” He shook his head, starting to walk forward again. He hadn’t noticed he’d stopped in the middle of the street; not smart. “It definitely seemed better when I was a kid. But then...I was a  _ kid _ . Most kids were sheltered from knowing how much crap was actually going on in the world. Not like now,” he added on, snuffing out the protest he could feel that had sparked. “And definitely less kids got that luxury as things got worse. All you had to do was walk outside and actually look around. Not ignore the people staring out at you or dying in dark alleyways, or hide away in prim and prissy neighborhoods, pretending all was right in the world so you didn’t need to care…”

 

He’d read the papers, he’d given a damn. But there was little he could do. Hell, he’d been to war, fought to protect this country, protect his men...but that hadn’t been enough. Not enough people had given a damn to make a difference.

 

He wouldn’t let that happen this time.

 

Liam sighed heavily. “Right. Sorry I ranted your ear off. But yea,” he threw some cheerfulness into his voice, turning to face the sniper again. “If giving a damn makes me weird, then I’m proud to be weird.”

 

MacCready stared. Just blinking at him.

 

Liam felt a frown begin to twitch at the corner of his mouth. Crap, had he broken the guy?

 

Finally, the mercenary slowly shook his head. “You really are the right guy to be the Minutemen’s new General.”

 

A bit of tension he hadn’t noticed in his shoulders melted away. He smiled, hidden by the mask. “So I’ve been told. Just hoping I manage to live up to the title.”

 

\---

 

Shit.

 

And, Duncan forgive him, he was not going to censor that one.

 

MacCready knew something big had to have happened for it to lead up to the world literally getting blown to hell. But to actually hear about it? And that it hadn’t been a sudden ripping of tension, but more of a result of that ripped tension finally snapping the last thread?

 

He wondered if he could convince Liam that they should head back to Diamond City and hit the Dugout Inn. This felt like a whiskey moment.

 

And he hadn’t even gotten to ask what Liam’s errand back there had been about. But the blonde had promised to tell him more about the Winter holotape hunt if things turned out more dangerous (and let’s face it, most things in the Commonwealth did), so he could probably still find out later. It’d just be a torturous trip to later.

 

For now, though, Liam had mentioned wanting to swing by a settlement or two to check in on things.

 

In the distance, another vertibird crashed.

 

Liam turned towards the sound. “Ok, that’s starting to get concerning now…”

 

MacCready snorted at the understatement. “You think?”

 

The great Brotherhood, mighty collectors of dangerous technology, keeper of old records.

 

Couldn’t get a decent vertibird pilot.

 

_ Maybe they all died _ , he thought sarcastically. They’d certainly had enough ‘birds go down that they couldn’t possibly keep up with all the lost pilots.

 

His boss was still looking off in the distance as the faint sound of rotors echoed off the buildings. “How many of those do you think they have?”

 

The sniper raised a brow. “What? You don’t know?” And he should really keep his mouth shut now-- “Aren’t you one of them?” Well, too late.

 

“Huh?” He swore Liam was blinking at him in confusion. “Yes. I mean...no, but…” The gas mask slid off to the side as a hand came up to his chin.

 

MacCready frowned. “Which one is it?”

 

The blonde slowly faced him again after a moment. “...both?”

 

The frick did that mean? The frown morphed into a scowl.

 

“It’s...complicated.” That sounded familiar. MacCready braced himself for the heavy answer he expected after the last time Liam had used those words to begin. “I’m technically an Initiate, the lowest rank you can get. But that’s only because the Paladin who granted me that title couldn’t officially induct me as anything higher than that. I’m not actually in the books as a true member.” The “yet” there was implied, but for some odd reason, the sniper felt like it was also not. Like Liam was teetering on a decision, or holding back from committing. He felt like he already knew why, but...damn, what else had that newspaper article said? He’d need to find another copy and reread it; there were details he was missing.

 

For now, he stuck with a different line of questioning, not even sure  _ why _ he wanted to find things out. ...except maybe the fact that Liam seemed so ok with sharing.

 

He was not feeling guilt for not doing the same. His boss wanted to share? Fine. But he had too much to lose.

 

Shut up.

 

“If you’re not officially one of them, how’d you even end up in their numbers?” Especially if he was already running the Minutemen. Jeez, did this guy not take a rest?

 

“The short answer? I helped them out and they asked if I wanted to join. Long answer… I happened to pick up a distress call on my pipboy, and after following the signal, I came across a small Brotherhood squadron under heavy assault by a swarm of ghouls. I helped them take out the ghouls, they told me they were cut off from the rest of the Brotherhood and needed to fix up their radio so they could broadcast long-range for backup. The Paladin and I went to retrieve what they needed, we fought our way through a dangerous building, found the tech, and made our way back. But not before he asked if I was interested in joining. Their cause made sense at the time--we did have to fight a bunch of first gen synths, proof that some people can’t be trusted with technology--and...it’s not like I could refuse right to the guy’s face. Honestly, he looked desperate for help, and his squad had been reduced to just three members. One of them even died to the ghouls--saw his body on the barricades they set up at their temporary base. So I accepted,” Liam ended with a shrug.

 

He really didn’t take a rest, did he? “Giving a damn” more than any normal person should. MacCready wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was impressed. ...even if he didn’t like the Brotherhood (he had his reasons).

 

He frowned again, remembering something. “Wait. Didn’t they recall their troops or something? But you’re just going off doing your own thing, right?”

 

“Yea…” Liam drew out the word as he looked to the side, bringing a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “See, the thing is, I have pre-war military experience, and to me, being ordered to ‘return for reassignment’ sounds like I’m not going to have much freedom for awhile. And I’m kind of...in the middle of something important…”

 

There was that nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important again. He should’ve checked if Piper had any extra copies of that paper around. Or if there’d been one lying on the ground or something.

 

“Duties of the General piling up on you?” he guessed, half-joking.

 

“Mm...sort of...but not really…”

 

There was something he wasn’t saying there and MacCready really wished he could remember the rest of that article.

 

Another explosion decided to interrupt them.

 

MacCready snapped his attention towards it, not liking how that one seemed a bit closer than the last. He suppressed a shudder, remembering how Liam had barely yanked him into cover the one time by the library.

 

They stared, listening as the sound echoed off of buildings in a way that made the world shake.

 

“...screw it.” Liam started off in the latest big boom’s direction. “Those settlements will be fine for an extra hour. Let’s go see what’s got the Brotherhood so interested that they’d go all ‘kamikaze’ with their ‘birds…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Really, though, what is it with the fragility of vertibirds?


	16. Tower Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How did this get so long. I have no idea.  
> Also took the opportunity to fix a thing that always bothered me. You'll know when you get there if you've done this quest.

...so perhaps he’d been overly optimistic in assuming the delay would be by an hour.

 

It might be be more realistic to say three hours.

 

...or more, seeing as they found themselves looking up at Trinity Tower, where another vertibird was currently firing off a spray of minigun bullets at whatever had taken over. Whoever it was was fighting back, too, if the streaks of red laser fire were anything to go by. Already there were tendrils of smoke beginning along the double copter’s edges.

 

_“This is pointless.”_

 

Liam snapped his head downward towards the oddly muffled voice. Some familiar-looking figures were standing off to the side, not too far from the base of the buildings, heads craned to look up at the raging battle.

 

Well...familiar in the way they were dressed. He didn’t actually know the two power armored figures or the scribe that was with them.

 

He signalled MacCready to hunker down in a nearby bus stop, hoping to catch more of their conversation while keeping hidden. They would question him once they saw the Brotherhood symbol on his chest. ...maybe it was time he ditched it or covered it up with something for the time being.

 

_“Why is the Elder even interested in this tower?”_ the same Brotherhood soldier who had complained asked.

 

The scribe look down at their notes. “There could be useful tech in there. This building held a number of different business firms, including a radio station right at the top that still has functioning communication equipment.”

 

The first power armor scoffed. _“You mean that message that’s been broadcasting for the past few days? That’s just a random frequency. Hardly a sign of useful communication equipment.”_ The last few words were a bit mocking, but the scribe seemed to take no notice. Maybe this happened often.

 

_“We’ll never know until we get in,”_ second power armor spoke. _“But we’ll never manage if the Elder doesn’t send more ground troops. We’re wasting vertibirds--not to mention pilots--by trying to smoke them out from the top.”_

 

“It’s more logical than going in blindly and risking entry,” the scribe chimed in. “These mutants have been here for awhile; they’ve established this as their territory, so they would know the ins and outs of the building’s remaining layout. Rushing in would effectively be putting ourselves into an ambush.”

 

They stared at the scribe.

 

_“I’m calling them off,”_ second power armor decided. _“We’ve been at this long enough that it’s not worth it. Our resources are better spent on clearing out buildings we can actually clear. If the Elder doesn’t like, it’ll be on me; not you two.”_ He turned, walking away even as he reached for the portable radio the scribe brought forth from their pack. _“Maybe we can actually secure one of the downed birds so a team can be sent in to salvage parts before any scavvers get to it…”_

 

Liam stayed crouched in cover, listening as the clanking of power armor slowly faded out as the trio left. He turned his gaze to the tower again.

 

“Well, now we know what had their attention. Super mutants,” MacCready chimed up behind him, gesturing towards the gorey-looking bags of...gore that were visible in Trinity Tower’s main lobby. Even at this distance. “So now we can get out of here.”

 

Liam kept his sights on the building. “I wanna know what’s in there…”

 

“...wait, what?”

 

He slowly surveyed the building’s exterior, making a mental note of how many floors it might have. He hadn’t been in there, and even if he had, it was _Trinity Tower_. One of the tallest buildings in Boston. Only the power company Mass Fusion really rivaled them, and he couldn’t remember who won that contest. They were just a handy way to orient yourself if you could spot them from within the city. “There could be something useful--”

 

“Yea, like more crap that you’ve _already_ picked up enough of.”

 

“--and then there was that message they mentioned,” Liam continued talking as if MacCready hadn’t said anything. He brought up his pipboy, fiddling with the dials of his radio. “I wonder what message they mean...”

 

The sniper looked at him incredulously. “Seriously? It could be nothing. Like they said, there’s old radio equipment up there. It could just be like those ‘please stand by’ things you see on all the old tvs. Hell, it might even be an ad for Blamco for all we--”

 

_“--is Rex Goodman. I’m being held prisoner on the top of Trinity Tower. I think the super mutants plan on eating me soon--”_

 

“...or not…” MacCready trailed off, staring at Liam’s pipboy as he held it up while the message continued to play.

 

_“--shit! Gotta sign off, one of the super mutants is coming!_

 

_“...message repeats._

 

_“Help! Or mayday! Or whatever it is one says on a radio. My name--”_

 

Liam clicked it off, turning his face towards the mercenary.

 

“Ok…” he conceded to the blonde. “So not nothing.”

 

Definitely not. And he was not going to ignore it.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

\---

 

They were gonna die.

 

Bad enough that the super mutants’ leader had egged them on from the moment they had stepped into the lobby (and continued to egg them on as they ascended). But as soon as they’d stepped off that first elevator...

 

_“Human! You fight almost as good as a super mutant!”_

 

...to say things went a little crazy was an understatement.

 

It was ambush. Turned bloody real quick.

 

There was no finesse, no time to think. Just reaction and instinct and the hope of not running out of bullets before the other guy.

 

Or half dozen super mutants in this case.

 

There was barely time for a breather, MacCready staring at the pile of bodies they’d built up. But they weren’t done.

 

“Come out, come out, wherever you are!”  


“You first…” he heard Liam mutter under his breath.

 

He couldn’t help feeling a frown tug at his mouth.

 

Which got even more concerned when Liam decided to flip on a desk radio.

 

_“--Big Maybelle, with ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On’...”_

 

The blonde stared at the radio as the sounds filled the room, alerting super mutants on upper floors of the still-living humans in the building.

 

“...screw it.” He brought up his pipboy, flipped on its own radio so the sounds of Big Maybelle belting it out were in stereo.

 

And took off.

 

Leaving a startled MacCready to jerk in surprise.

 

_What--_

 

He barely started the thought, jumping to action a split second later.

 

Chasing after “shaking going on” and gunshots.

 

“That sound; what is it--”

 

_Blamblam--_

 

Finding only dead and mostly dead--but quickly dispatched--green skins as he ran. And more random radios that had been flipped on, continuing the soundtrack of chaos. Up and up through ruined floors, leaving more ruin behind. What the hell was Liam doing? What happened to the stealthy shadow?

 

_“I have pre-war military experience…”_

 

MacCready nearly stumbled as he remembered that. He’d read about guys who would come back from war, seeing hell on the battlefield, being triggered into flashbacks by the simplest of everyday things… Hell, he’d known a few people in the Gunners who would go off or turn into a completely different person as soon as a fight broke out.

 

He didn’t know what exactly Liam had gone through in combat during his time. But that, plus the fu--screwed up nature of that vault, and...damn, he wished he could remember what else. It was lingering right there. But that couldn’t be helping right now.

 

All he could do was chase after the crazed “Rambo” his boss had become.

 

He was afraid he’d never catch up, or worse, maybe he would catch up, but only in time to see his boss had been gunned down in his insanity.

 

He made it past a few more bodies in time to see an elevator door being held open by an expectant Liam. He ran for the elevator, relieved and slightly terrified that his boss had waited. The button was pressed as soon as he cleared the door, sending them higher up into hell. (Ironic, really, since he was pretty sure hell was underground.) He took a moment to study Liam out of the corner of his eye, noting the way he seemed to be breathing carefully as he stayed facing the doors in front of them. He was also a bit bloodied. Whether with his own blood or that of the super mutants’, it was too dark to tell.

 

MacCready hid his frown, wondering if he should say something.

 

Before he could even decide to open his mouth, the doors slid open again, and out Liam went--music still blaring from his pipboy--rifle raised to scan the much windier space they found themselves in.

 

Crap. How high was this building again?

 

He suppressed a shudder, trying to stay focused.

 

“Someone’s there!”

 

_Here we go again…_

 

He barely kept up as Liam rushed up the stairs, chasing after those voices while he chased his crazed boss.

 

The gunfire began anew, but this time he swore he caught a few pained grunts in there that weren’t super mutant.

 

He hurried, dispatching a swinging sledgehammer that came at him from a closed door, making it to the next floor in time to see his boss wrapping a bit of cloth around one of his arms where the armor piece there unfortunately didn’t cover.

 

MacCready bit back a curse. “Do you want help with--”

 

“Later,” Liam almost snapped. “Worry about finishing here first.”

 

He wanted to protest--

 

“KILL YOU!!”

 

Liam _growled_ and pulled out a grenade, chucking it in the voice’s general direction.

 

“Cover!!”

 

_Boom!_

 

Liam turned back to his crude wrap-work, tying it off the best he could one-handed. He turned back to the sniper, biting out a quick, “Come on.”

 

They ran past a room with a few microphones and a board with all these sliders on it--the “communication equipment”?--finding a piece of fallen ceiling that led out to open sky. The roof. That had to be where this Rex guy was being held, and he better be fu--freaking worth the risk--

 

_Shit_ , that was a minigun aimed at--

 

“THIS IS NO GAME, HU--”

 

_Blamblamblamblam--_

 

...that was a pretty graceful thud, actually.

 

Liam stood at the top of the ruined ramp that led onto the roof, assault rifle smoking a little in his shaking grasp as his chest heaved for breaths.

 

MacCready carefully approached his boss’s side, side eyeing the body that had been threatening them only a few seconds ago, now full of almost as many holes as that minigun would’ve done. “Hey…” he spoke carefully, trying to get Liam’s attention--and honestly not sure if he even should yet after that show. “Are you...alright?”

 

The blonde let out a shaky breath, lowering his rifle just as shakily as the adrenaline apparently wore off. “I think…” he began--

 

“Hello?”

 

Their eyes snapped towards the cage they finally noticed.

 

Liam flipped off his radio as “Uranium Fever” began, almost startling him as if he’d forgotten it was playing. He was moving the arm he’d wrapped rather carefully. MacCready wanted to ask why he didn’t just stimpak it, but already the blonde had moved closer to the cage, the person in there pressing their face to the grating of the door.

 

“Oh, magnificent bard! A rescuer!”

 

The sniper moved closer to hear better as well, keeping his rifle ready and his ears peeled for any more green skins.

 

“No one else has actually made it this far yet…” the guy, dressed rather immaculately for a Commonwealth dweller, in a--now somewhat soiled--tweed suit, admitted to them sheepishly. “I think the super mutants might have...eaten...the other attempts… But no use dwelling on that! You must get us out of here!”

 

“I’m somewhat difficult to kill…” Liam admitted back. “But what do you mean, ‘us’?”

 

Heavy footsteps from within the cage was the answer to that. “You fought well, human.”

 

_Holy crap--_

 

\--as the hulking green form of a super mutant walked into view. “More of my brothers will be here soon. They know a human is attacking the tower.”

 

“Wait.” Liam was definitely as taken aback as he was feeling right now. He wondered if the guy was also as slack-jawed as--MacCready snapped his mouth shut. “The super mutant too?” Hadn’t lost his ability to speak though. Which was good, because the sniper wasn’t sure what he would’ve said right now.

 

“Yes. Him too,” Rex, for they could only conclude this _was_ the same Rex Goodman from that radio signal, insisted. “He’s harmless. ...well. Mostly. He won’t hurt us, at least.”

 

“Strong will no hurt human if human rescues Rex and Strong,” the super mutant--Strong?--backed up the guy’s argument.

 

“There you go.” Seemed good enough for him.

 

MacCready was still skeptical though. He frowned, finding his voice. “Hold on a second. Why’s he in the cage with you?”

 

“He defied his leader by standing up for me. See, I came here with the purpose of giving these poor, ignorant creatures...culture.” Well that was stupid. “I started with _Macbeth_.” Hey, he knew that one! Guy had to fight some creature known as...Grindel something… The language had gone over his head the first times he’d read it, but it was interesting enough that he’d gone back to it enough times to once have full passages memorized.

 

Rex continued, snapping him out his thoughts. “They seemed to find it funny. Except for Strong here.”

 

“Strong learn secret to human strength from _Macbeth_.” The word was pretty foreign on the super mutant’s tongue. “Milk of human kindness. Strong will find milk, Strong will drink milk. Strong will have secret power of humans…”

 

…

 

Was this guy delusional?

 

Oh, who was MacCready kidding? This was a super mutant. They hardly even had the brains to _be_ delusional with.

 

“Yes, yes, of course you will,” Rex practically rolled his eyes, but Strong (luckily) didn’t pick up the hint of patient sarcasm lacing his voice. “When the mutants got tired of taunting me, they threw me in this cage. But little did they know, there’s a radio in here!”

 

“They know. You bait to catch more humans.” ...the level of pride Strong seemed to have at that was almost terrifying. And he was supposedly not going to hurt them??

 

He turned to look at Liam, who had also turned to stare at him, MacCready’s blinking reflected in those lenses.

 

“ _What?_ ” The guy practically squawked. “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

 

Strong scratched at his head. “Strong thought you know.”

 

“See what I have to work with?!” he threw back at the two of them as they both snapped back to attention. “I’ve promised to help Strong find the milk of human kindness. But that’s if we get out of here…” Hint hint.

 

Liam caught on. “I’ll let you out.” Though he sounded unsure. At least they agreed on that part.

 

As soon as the door was sprung, Strong was urging them on. “Go to lift! Go fast, humans!”

 

Just as the grunts of more super mutants rushed up the stairs. “You die!!”

 

And it was chaos once again. Didn’t help that one of their allies looked exactly like the enemy.

 

...was that racist?

 

MacCready didn’t really care right now. He was too busy dodging laser fire, and keeping an eye on his boss, who seemed to be firing a little slower than he had been earlier.

 

It had also started to rain. Joy.

 

_Perfect weather for riding a lift down a tall building._

 

Not like they had a choice, though. The other way would practically be swarmed now. So as soon as it was clear enough, they made a run for the lift. It was barely big enough for the four of them--and MacCready had to use all his willpower not to look down through the lift’s grating floor--but Liam hit the big red button, and down they went.

 

“I shall...attempt to lift our spirits by...quoting from the bard!” Rex was not helping. “Good night, good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow!”

 

_Definitely not helping._

 

A barrage of red lasers followed them in their descent.

 

“They say hell is empty and the devils are all here!”

 

...now he was just getting dark.

 

Even Liam paused for a split second as he shot back at the fray going on in the building.

 

Finally, the lift stopped. They were only halfway, but still, MacCready stuck close to Liam as they followed Strong and Rex back into the building, trusting the super mutant knew the quickest way down.

 

He thought he caught a few quiet grunts of pain over the rain, but he wasn’t sure.

 

They also had another skirmish to deal with. A small one, at least. And then…

 

_Yay. Another lift._

 

Liam’s aim was getting...a little worse on this ride down. At least the grenades he threw didn’t go off their mark.

 

And halle-freakin-lujah, the ground was in sight.

 

He nearly kissed the floor as they got off the lift.

 

Nearly.

 

Only a few more flights of stairs and they were hitting the ground floor again, which was mercifully abandoned. For now. Even if they were idiots, it wouldn’t take the mutants long before they figured out where they’d gone.

 

Rex turned towards them, Strong lingering by the front door expectantly.

 

“Many thanks for that timely rescue.”

 

Liam took the cue, nodding. “All in a day’s work.”

 

_No kidding_ , MacCready couldn’t help thinking. Craziest twenty-four hours he’d had in awhile. And that was saying a lot.

 

His boss continued. “Why were you even up there?”

 

Rex huffed. “I was _attempting_ to teach these super mutants human culture. I thought perhaps I could…” He gestured a bit with his hand. “...broaden their minds. Give them a new perspective. And who better to teach them of the majesty of the great bard than _Rex Goodman_ \--” Did this guy have an ego or what? “--foremost actor in the world today!” He was certainly proud of that. “But...yes, well…” He cleared his throat, sobering a bit. “I must say, this little...experience has been...well, quite the experience. I think it’s time I left this awful place. I’m returning to WRVR, and resuming my career in radio.”

 

The hulking form by the door spoke up. “Strong will go with Rex. Learn more about _Macbeth_ and milk of human kindness.”

 

“Yes, yes, very well.” Like before, Rex came close to rolling his eyes as he agreed with practiced patience. Little hard _not_ to agree with a super mutant anyway. “Probably for the best. More of those brainless brutes might be lingering about, and I’d rather much like to avoid spending any more time in a cage.” He turned back to his saviors. “I bid thee adieu, gentlemen. If you should find yourselves in the area, do feel free to drop in at WRVR. We could do with a fresh face there every once in awhile.” And with that, he nodded, turning for the door, the heavy thud-thud of Strong’s footsteps following after.

 

“Right,” Liam sighed out as the two slowly walked out of view into the dimming light of the rain. “So...you ready to get out of here?” He turned towards the sniper.

 

But MacCready barely noticed that. He was currently staring at Liam’s arm. Or more accurately, at the redness that was darkening the rough bandage job.

 

“Mac…?”

 

MacCready flicked his eyes up towards the gas mask before aiming them back down at his bicep again. “You should really take care of that.”

 

“Huh?” Liam looked down as well. “Oh...right…” He seemed a little surprised, as if he’d forgotten all about it. That was concerning.

 

“You have stimpaks, right?” Hell, he was about to take out one of his own if Liam didn’t first.

 

“I...do, yea…” But he seemed hesitant.

 

The sniper frowned. “So…?” he prompted.

 

“I shouldn’t just…” Again with the hesitating.

 

MacCready huffed. “Look. If you’re worried you’re low on stimpaks, I’ll lend you one of mine. I won’t even make you pay for it right away,” he attempted to joke, the smirk fading as he turned serious again. “But if you don’t deal with that, you’re gonna bleed out.” It was looking pretty nasty. The cloth covering the wound was more red than anything now. “And I can’t exactly drag you out of here if you pass out from blood loss.”

 

“Yea, but…” The gas mask drifted to the side in silence for a moment before turning back to him. “I’d prefer to get the bullet out first?”

 

…

 

Oh.

 

_Shi-- Crap._

 

Yea, that was a good reason not to stim it yet.

 

“Did you want help removing it? I’ve had to do it myself a few times.” He wasn’t starting to panic. It was just a bullet in the arm. Causing somewhat severe bleeding. Probably looked worse than it actually was.

 

But Liam shook his head. “Leave it for now. Let’s just...get out of here first…”

 

“But--”

 

“More super mutants could show up. Or even Brotherhood.”

 

MacCready scowled, but he had a good point. “Alright, fine. But where do you suggest we go? Diamond City’s not exactly that close, and nothing personal, but you kind of look like crap right now and like you could fall over at any minute.”

 

Liam snorted. “I _feel_ like I could fall over,” he admitted. “But luckily…” He brought up his pipboy, and _started_ to move his other arm to reach for the dials, but-- “Agh. Ok, bad idea. Not showing you on the map then.” MacCready watched with growing concern as he shakily lowered his right arm back to his side, very pointedly keeping it still there for now. “But I was gonna say…” He gestured with the other--uninjured--arm, pointing down the street from where they came. “There’s a building pretty closeby we could stay the night in. Should still be clear, but I’m not one hundred percent on that…”

 

The sniper furrowed his brow. “‘Should’ still be clear…?”

 

“Nick and I cleared out some ghouls from it...should be about...just over a week ago…?” MacCready automatically tensed at the mention of ghouls. “We were pretty thorough. Not too quiet about it either. I doubt anything is left. Unless something else moved in of course…”

 

That...wasn’t too promising. But then, they didn’t really have a choice, did they? Long walk through the (dark) rain to guaranteed safety, or shorter walk through the (dark) rain to not-so-guaranteed safety? While keeping your injured employer from falling on his ass on the way of course. When put that way…

 

_Damn it._

 

Sigh. “So where’s this place you mentioned?”

 

“Just down the street when you turn at the intersection.” Liam sounded a bit relieved. But mostly tired. “Hubris Comics.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two years ago to this day (still November 14 where I am), I created Liam. Completed all the official content (minus random wandering around) a little over a year ago. Still derp around almost every day.
> 
> ...still leaving Strong standing at the base of Trinity Tower.  
> I am a terrible person.
> 
> (And that's why I fixed it. B| )


	17. Hubris

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't have much to say about this one. \o/

It was exactly as he remembered it.

 

Plain brick building except for the somehow still vibrant “Hubris Comics” painted in big letters. Front door that sat just below street level. And inside, still the shelves of strewn and (sadly) beaten up comics of the main storefront. No wet slapping of ghoul feet though. That was nice.

 

Less nice was that it was still as fucking dark as last time.

 

“Either I’m going blind, or it’s dark as hell in here.”

 

“Or both?” Liam attempted to joke. It would probably be more compelling if he wasn’t trying not to sway on his feet. It’d been hard enough walking down the street. Even better since there’d been a raider camp on the way that he’d completely forgotten about. Mostly because he and Nick had been able to skirt them enough to not catch their attention the last time he’d been through here. Only the dark and rain saved Liam and MacCready from having to deal with them. Which was ironic, considering they wouldn’t have a need  _ to _ get past them if it hadn’t been dark and raining…

 

MacCready snorted. “Smartass.” The silhouette shape that was his...partner?...yea, partner sounded accurate after the amendment to the deal they’d struck...shifted a little closer to him in the dark. “That fancy wrist watch of yours got a light on it?”

 

“Yea. Hold…” he winced, reaching for the switch on it. “...on a second…” He’d been keeping his right arm as still as possible, even opting to wield the silenced 10mm he still had in his left hand for now. Not ideal, but it was better than traveling unarmed. Couldn’t operate his pipboy without his right hand though.

 

“Hey, don’t--…” The sniper was sounding worried again. “Want me to--”

 

“Nah.” He blinked, eyes trying to adjust as bright light flooded the room. “Already got it.” And with barely moving his right arm, too. It would be impressive if it hadn’t left him in a half-twisted position with his shoulder dipped to bring his left wrist closer to his other hand. He slowly straightened, pretending he hadn’t been been bent almost in half a second ago (or that MacCready was still watching him with concern and barely held back amusement). His head swam a bit from doing that, but, oh well. At least they had light now, and if anything was in the area, it would probably draw it out.

 

He waited, listening intently.

 

Still nothing.

 

He nodded, turning towards MacCready. “Still seems empty, but…”

 

“Yea,” the sniper agreed with what he hinted at. “Should keep our guard up until we know for sure.”

 

First floor was definitely clear aside from the corpses of dispatched ghouls. They stepped around them carefully, but Liam couldn’t help noticing the way MacCready was glancing at them warily.

 

“We could probably set up some mines down here,” he suggested. “In case anything comes in from the front door.”

 

He eyed Liam. “You always carry mines?”

 

“I’ve got a lot of stuff on me,” was the matter-of-fact answer.

 

Snort. “Yea, no kidding.” MacCready’s expression held an unsureness to it though. “Maybe we should make sure the rest of the place is clear first. Don’t wanna set off my own defense by needing to make a quick getaway after all.”

 

Liam shrugged one-shouldered. “Fair enough.”

 

He had suggested they go to the top floor after they cleared the building anyway. Farthest from the point of entry to give themselves an extra buffer of protection. Plus nothing had died in the sound control room up there, which made it more appealing. And since it was mostly closed off, it would be easier to set up a main line of defense.

 

Except with the amount of stairs that meant they needed to climb, he was quickly regretting it.

 

Liam blinked as his vision swam, stopping so he wouldn’t lose his footing. The weight of the past few days was pressing down on him. When was the last time he’d gotten a good night of sleep, and not just a few hours of paranoid rest?

 

MacCready had helped him tie another bandage around his arm to try to stop the blood flow, but even that was starting to seep a bit of red. It was lucky they still hadn’t come across anything. He wasn’t sure he’d be very useful in a fight right now.

 

“...area seems clear too.”

 

_ Huh? _

 

Liam blinked, hard, eyes refocusing.

 

MacCready’s concerned face came into view.

 

“Hey...you alright?”

 

Liam blinked again, trying to keep the fuzz at bay. “Honestly?” He shook his head to try to clear it, only somewhat succeeding. “Probably not…”

 

He jumped reflexively as a hand grabbed his arm to steady him. The sniper had slung his rifle across his back and moved closer without his notice. He hadn’t realized he was swaying so much until he was being forcibly--but carefully--held upright.

 

“Ok, I think it’s time you sit down already so you don’t fall on your ass.”

 

That sounded like a great idea. But...didn’t they have the rest of the building to sweep? How many flights had they climbed...

 

“We’re already at the top floor.” It was like MacCready had read his mind. Or somehow seen through the gas mask. “And I still don’t hear anything alive in here, so we’re probably safe.” The “for now” went unsaid.

 

Liam didn’t say anything to that; just let himself be led the rest of the way up the stairs. They were, in fact, on the top floor. The Silver Shroud set was still all lit up like a fucking rainbow, too. Why they had that pre-programmed setting, he had no idea, but it had been too tempting not to switch (and leave) it on.

 

MacCready lingered on it for a second as he did a quick glance over of the big open space that had been converted into a studio of sorts. He seemed to hesitate, almost like he wanted to comment on the set, but continued on pulling Liam with him towards the sound control room. Aside from the sound boards and some cabinets, it was also still empty.

 

He all but shoved Liam to the floor against the back wall, carefully taking the pistol still in the blonde’s grip and stashing it back where it’d been pulled from.

 

Sitting down made it even more obvious how drained he actually was. Damn. It was getting hard to keep his eyes open.

 

“Hey.” He snapped to attention as a hand landed on his shoulder. Shit, he’d started to doze off. “Don’t fall asleep yet. Still need to get that bullet out.”

 

“...yea…” He brought up a hand to rub at his face, almost jumping when it hit the gas mask, but raised it higher to run through his hair instead. “Right, sorry…”

 

“Do you think you might need med-x?” MacCready brought his own pack closer, reaching to dig through it and pulling out some tweezers and a lighter. “I may have done this before, but I’m not exactly a doctor, so I can’t say whether this will be painful or not.” He was babbling. The fact he was nervous was oddly reassuring...even if it shouldn’t be.

 

It was probably the exhaustion making him think that.

 

Liam sighed shakily, trying to focus on what the sniper was doing to try to stay awake. “I’d...rather not, thanks. That stuff tends to fuck with me…” He watched MacCready consider what looked like a needle and thread with indecision. “Besides...once the bullet is out, a stimpak should fix it right up… I’ll have no need for the med-x then…” Even if he’d want it at the time. Field medicine and treatment were never pleasant. But the ongoing effects of the drug made the temporary relief not worth it.

 

MacCready eyed him carefully. “If you’re sure…”

 

He grunted a noise of assent.

 

The sniper nodded, expression grim, and turned his gaze to the lit up pipboy. He inclined his head at it. “Think you can angle that over here more? Gonna need the light.” He reached for the bloodied cloth tied around Liam’s bicep.

 

\---

 

MacCready bit back a curse. While it was true that the bleeding had made it seem worse than it actually was, it was still a gunshot wound. And Liam had been using his arm after it had happened, aggravating the wound even more.

 

Plus, it was one thing to doctor your own wounds; it was another to doctor someone else’s. Most of the bullets he’d removed had been from himself. He knew his limits. How careful to be.

 

Liam was white-knuckled from clenching his fist. On his left hand anyway. His right hand could barely even make a first right now.

 

MacCready tried to work as quickly and carefully as possible, both ignoring and being driven on by every flinch and breath of pain. The piece of metal had embedded itself in a way that made it difficult to get a good grip on with the tweezers. Probably from how much Liam had kept using his arm to fire his rifle earlier. He didn’t like how much blood was seeping free from the wound now that he was digging at it, too, but there was no choice. Unless they wanted to wait until morning and try walking to the doc in Diamond City.

 

Aha!

 

He held up the offending chunk of metal--luckily still in one piece--in triumph. Crazy how something so small could cause such a big problem. “Want a souvenir?”

 

The gas mask shakily turned towards it. “ _ Fuck that thing… _ ” Liam managed through clenched teeth. “ _...and the super mutant that shot me with it… _ ”

 

MacCready set it aside, putting pressure on the wound with a non-bloodied rag as he reached for a stimpak. “You probably blew the guy’s head off.”

 

“ _...along with the rest of him… _ ”

 

He snorted. “Yea, probably.” Biting the cap off a stimpak, he injected it near the wound, letting the healing meds do their thing.

 

Liam’s hands slowly unclenched as it went to work, releasing a deep sigh. Hell, he practically sagged against the wall as the wound slowly closed.

 

MacCready carefully lifted the cloth away after a moment to check its progress. The stimpak hadn’t fully healed it, but it was at that point where another might be a waste. It definitely looked better, that was for sure. But he didn’t like the idea of just...bandaging it up again, leaving it to heal the rest of the way on its own. The guy had already lost a significant amount of blood. Why leave more for his body to deal with?

 

…

 

_ Screw it. _

 

MacCready pulled another stimpak from his pack.

 

_ Now we’re even. _

 

The gas mask seemed to perk up at that, turning towards him almost accusingly. “Did you just use another…?”

 

“Believe me; it needed it.”

 

His head tilted a bit. MacCready could picture a frown forming even if he’d never seen it before. “But...wasn’t that one of--”

 

“Got a bedroll in that ‘pack of everything’ of yours?”

 

“I--” The blonde almost jumped back in surprise at the sudden subject change. “Yea…?”

 

“Then quit talking and get some sleep already. I don’t wanna spend any more time in this creepy place than we need to.”

 

Liam stared at him for a moment in that unnervingly silent way of his. Until those glassy goggles finally slid away, Liam’s focus turning to his travel pack.

 

He watched his boss carefully as he pulled out a sleeping bag, noting that despite his arm shaking a little--it was probably going to feel weak for awhile due to the blood loss--he wasn’t flinching in pain.

 

Lucy would be proud.

 

He clamped down on the thought process before it could squeeze his heart too much.

 

“You still need the light for anything?”

 

MacCready blinked, noting that Liam was holding up his pipboy from his spot on the bedroll he’d set up.

 

“Nah,” he shook his head. “I’m good.” He threw a thumb over his shoulder at the open door behind him, indicating the big studio space beyond it. “I’m just gonna take a look around. Set up some defenses so nothing tries to jump us in the night.”  _ Like a reanimated ghoul. _ Another thought he clamped down on.

 

Liam looked at him a moment longer, but nodded, sending the room into darkness with a soft  _ click _ . He could barely make out the dark shape of his employer settling down on the sleeping bag, something being shifted and set on the floor nearby. It wasn’t long before he heard the soft sounds of even breathing.

 

MacCready moved to get to his feet as his eyes adjusted to the darkness--

 

His eyes landed on a small shape on the floor near the bedroll.

 

A gas mask.

 

_ Liam’s _ gas mask.

 

Which meant he had taken it off.

 

He could even see a small bit of the guy’s face from this angle…

 

He leaned closer to the sleeping form, hoping to maybe catch a better glimpse…

 

…

 

And stopped short, leaning away again. He wasn’t sure why, but somehow this felt wrong. Like he was invading the guy’s privacy or something.

 

MacCready cursed himself. Why the hell did it matter? It was just the guy’s face!

 

...which, again. Why did it matter? It wasn’t like knowing what he looked like made a difference...

 

Ugh.

 

Whatever.

 

He focused on getting to his feet so he could explore the studio.

 

...and not try to look at Liam’s face.

 

\---

 

_ “ _ Grognak the Barbarian and the Jungle of the… _ ” she squinted, leaning closer. “ _ Bat-Babies _?” she straightened again, hands on hips. “Is that a hint at something?” _

 

_ He looked up from the page he was on, taking in the way she stood, rounded stomach almost jutting forward at him accusingly to go with her (mock) scowl. He raised a brow. “I don’t know. Unless there’s some recessive gene in your family you want to tell me about?” _

 

_ “Maybe it’s  _ your _ genes I should be worried about.” _

 

_ He stared. _

 

_ She stared. _

 

_ Stare. _

 

_ Stare. _

 

_ His mouth twitched. _

 

_ She stared. _

 

_ He finally broke the stare, a grin breaking across his face. _

 

_ “Damn it, how do you do that?” _

 

_ She smirked, coming to flop onto the couch beside him. “My secret power. I need it if I want to win cases.” _

 

_ He shook with laughter, setting down his comic to drape an arm across her shoulders and tug her closer. “Remind me to never get on your bad side.” _

 

_ “Oh, believe me, you’ll  _ know _ when you’re on my bad side.” She plucked up the comic from his lap. “I can’t believe you still collect these things.” _

 

_ “Hey, they’re entertaining,” he mumbled into her hair. _

 

_ “Or maybe you just have an affinity for the main character.” She held up an open page where the main hero stood with his axe raised, giving a clear view of his bare chest as he got ready to bring down his wrath onto whatever unruly foe was on the previous page. _

 

_ “There is a certain...aesthetic, yes…” _

 

_ “Or maybe it’s a certain resemblance.” _

 

_ “Really. I hadn’t noticed.” _

 

_ She brought the page closer, pointedly raising a brow at Grognak’s trademark blonde hair, and turned that raised brow onto the blonde sitting beside her. _

 

_ “...ok, so maybe there is a resemblance…” he finally relented. _

 

_ She laughed, opening her mouth to tease him more. _

 

_ Music filled the air suddenly. _

 

Liam opened his eyes.

 

\---

 

“Shi--”

 

MacCready scrambled at the keys, flicking through screens to find the off switch.

 

The Silver Shroud theme stopped playing.

 

Shuffling from behind him drew his attention, causing him to mentally curse again as he looked over his shoulder. In the dim lighting of the room, he just made out Liam half sat up on his bedroll, scrubbing a hand across his eyes with a groan.

 

“Wha’ the hell was…?”

 

“Ah. Sorry about that,” he stammered out an apology, turning back towards the screen before his employer could lower his hand. It still felt too weird to try to look at his face. Like he needed permission first, which was just silly. “I didn’t think this thing still worked.” Or would be that loud for that matter. He just...had to know if it was the real deal.

 

He heard a drawn out breath. “Yea...it works. Also has controls for the set lights out there.” A rustling sound drew his attention again. He turned his head just enough to watch from the corner of his eye as Liam rifled through his bag for something, coming up with a purified water. He downed most of it in one go, dropping his head onto the arm he had rested across his raised knee with a sigh.

 

MacCready’s brow furrowed. “Are you...feeling alright?” It felt silly to ask, but. Yea.

 

The blonde nodded, head still bowed. “Head’s just pounding a bit. But I’m not surprised.”

 

“That arm’s not still giving you trouble, is it?”

 

“Heh.” MacCready could hear the smirk in his voice. “Nah, it’s just fine.” He lifted the half-finished purified water--held in his right hand--as proof. “Never got to say thanks, by the way.” He lowered his arm again, turning his head a little from where it rested to look at the mercenary. “So. Yea. Thanks.”

 

Those words stirred an odd warmth in his chest that he didn’t know what to make of. When was the last time anyone had actually thanked him for anything and not just given him his earned caps (or the rare bonus on top)? MacCready couldn’t remember. He also wasn’t exactly sure how to respond…

 

During his indecision, he somewhat registered Liam carefully lifting his head to look at his pipboy. And stare at it. “MacCready,” he said after a moment. “It’s 3am. Please tell me you haven’t been up this whole time.”

 

…

 

_ Um. _

 

He pointedly looked back at the terminal, ignoring the accusing stare he could feel being aimed at his back. “...I might have?”

 

“...doing what exactly?”

 

MacCready definitely didn’t need to be looking to figure out that look was turning more towards incredulous by the second. “Mostly keeping watch,” he muttered. And looking around the studio in awe of being in the presence of  _ the _ Silver Shroud set, but saying that part out loud seemed less important.

 

“...keeping watch for what?” And there was the full disbelief. “Radroaches? And need I remind you, I do have mines that could easily be set up.”

 

“...yea…” MacCready conceded that he had a point. Except… “But mines aren’t exactly foolproof. And it’s always smarter to have someone keep watch.”

 

“That may be true, but…” Liam drew in a breath and slowly released it, putting on a more commanding voice. “Look. Missing one night of sleep is bad enough. But two nights? That does things to the mind. Believe me; I know.”

 

Oh, he was aware of that, too. “I wasn’t planning on staying up all night.”

 

“ _ Three am _ . Sun’s practically about to rise.”

 

...also a good point.

 

There was a huff from behind him and the quiet  _ clink _ of a can being put down, followed by more shuffling noises.

 

MacCready turned again in time for Liam to abruptly whisk past him, pack slung over one shoulder. “What’re you--”

 

“I’m going to set up some mines in a few places, and  _ you _ are going to finally get some sleep so I don’t end up needing to drag you tomorrow when you pass out from exhaustion.”

 

He could only gape, unable to fully register the pointed look he was given as Liam exited the room, barely making a sound as he became “the stealthy shadow” again.

 

Wait.

 

He’d left the room.

 

_ He left. _

 

An irrational panic began to build, only squashed when MacCready noticed Liam’s bedroll was still set up by the wall where he’d been asleep a moment ago.

 

He’d also left his gas mask.

 

…

 

He wasn’t wearing his gas mask.

 

For some reason, that made MacCready’s brain pause.

 

...for a few seconds anyway. Liam had sounded almost threatening about him needing to get some sleep, and truthfully, he did feel about ready to fall over on his feet.

 

MacCready pulled out his bedroll, listening to the quiet  _ clicks _ that were the only indication his employer was setting up their defenses.

  
He was fast asleep by the time Liam reentered the room, and thus didn’t notice when the blonde sat back on his sleeping bag, pulling out a worn issue of  _ Grognak the Barbarian and the Jungle of the Bat-Babies _ , swiping a hand across his eyes as he flipped through its pages.


	18. Curiosity

The gas mask was back in place by the time morning came.

 

MacCready tried to ignore the stab of disappointment he felt at that, because, really, that was just silly.

 

Hell, Liam had even already eaten breakfast by the time he woke, offering some of the brahmin jerky he had left to the mercenary, too.

 

He chewed as they packed up--MacCready grabbing his bedroll while Liam started on the mines he had placed--mentally noting that for jerky, it wasn’t half bad. A lot better than the bland, overly dry crap he’d had during his time with the Gunners. That stuff would do better as shoe leather than actual rations.

 

Stuff packed and jerky finished off, he headed into the main studio as Liam walked by, stashing one of the mines back into his pack. Wait, he’d just come from the other side of the room.

 

MacCready frowned into that direction.

 

_...ok, that’s a ladder. How did I miss that?_

 

To be fair, it had been fairly dark in that corner last night, and it was a darker colored ladder that led up to a roof hatch he also hadn’t seen.

 

He turned back to track his boss as he worked, noticing the guy had even placed a few mines around the elevator shaft. (“I was actually kind of serious when I asked if you were keeping watch for radroaches,” he commented as if in explanation of them being there.) Liam made his way back over to the sniper, glancing around the room as he approached.

 

“Ok. So...aside from the stairs, that’s it for up here.” The gas mask turned towards MacCready. “Y’know, with all the crap that’s happened the past few days, I’m surprised you’re still sticking around. Dealing with super mutants _twice_ within twenty-four hours? And both times in an enclosed space?” He shook his head. “Hell, that’s enough to make anyone leave. Unless they’re somewhat...unbalanced.” There was a smirk coloring the words.

 

MacCready shrugged, feeling a smirk of his own coming on. “At this point, I’m pretty much _committed_ to the cause. That, and all the extra caps don’t hurt…”

 

“Heh. Well, I hate to break it to you, but you probably won’t find much in the way of loot here. Nick and I pretty much cleaned the place out.” He started down the stairs, stopping occasionally to crouch and pick something up with a quick _beepbeepbeep_ as it was deactivated.

 

“Yea, about that… What happened to Valentine anyway?”

 

“Hm? What do you mean?” _Beepbeepbeep_.

 

“Couldn’t help noticing him that time at the Rail, right after that…‘talk’ we had there. He was waiting in the doorway?”

 

“Ah. Yea.” A pause. “He’s probably back in his office at Diamond City...unless he went to follow up on one of the leads we dug up…” He mumbled that last bit, but let his voice pick up the volume again. “Anyway...I had a few things I needed to take care of on my own, so we went our separate ways for awhile.”

 

“That so.” It wasn’t a question; more of an acknowledgement. He almost asked what kind of “things” Liam had needed to take care of. It obviously wasn’t digging through old police records or returning old books to libraries. Otherwise he wouldn’t have hired a mercenary to tag along.

 

“Yep.” The finality of that one word made it obvious he didn’t plan to explain either. Another thing for that “list” of things to find out maybe? ...which he probably should’ve written down since it was starting to grow and getting harder to remember everything on it. Damn.

 

And the silence was starting to grow a bit, too… MacCready tried not to fidget as they stopped on the next floor for Liam to pick up a few more mines (how far had he gone with them last night??). Maybe he could try for a different subject? Something a little lighter?

 

“So how’d you get mixed up with a synth detective anyway?” Maybe not the lightest of subjects, but he was oddly curious.

 

Liam paused where he was crouched, glanced back at the mercenary, and disabled the next mine before getting back to his feet. MacCready almost thought he wasn’t going to answer, frowning as he debated on dropping trying to start some sort of conversation altogether--

 

“I needed his help on a case.”

 

\--...ah. Well, that was a start.

 

He raised an interested brow, prompting, “Oh?”

 

Silence was his only answer, as if the guy was hesitating to share any details.

 

Was this going to be another of those “pulling teeth” lines of questioning? Because it sure felt like it. Feeling the frown start to return, he shrugged, steering the conversation in a different way. “So how much did he charge you?”

 

“He…” Liam paused again, as if tripped up. “...didn’t actually.” In fact, he sounded surprised. “Huh. I didn’t even think of that. In fact, his assistant paid _me_.”

 

“Huh” indeed. “Seriously?”

 

Another mine was added to the pack. “Well...I did help him out I suppose…”

 

“Oh?”

 

“He was in a bit of a jam before I could even get his help. I kind of had to rescue him from another case he was on…”

 

That sounded familiar actually. “Y’know, I think I heard something on the radio about that… He got mixed up with gangsters or something… So that was you, huh?”

 

“...yea...it was…” Wait, was he embarrassed? MacCready swore the guy’s ears were a little red! “Still a little surreal hearing how much people know about me.”

 

“Ha, yea...not sure how I’d deal with people knowing what I’ve been up to…” He cleared his throat a little, awkwardly getting back on subject. “So, uhh...did he manage to crack your case?”

 

“Not...really. It...kind of turned out more complicated than we thought. Did get a pretty good lead, though, even if it’s...something of a road block.” Liam paused again, as if in deep thought, before he shook himself out of it, moving on to the next floor down of the bookstore. “There is a way around it. I know exactly how, but…” he trailed off.

 

“What?”

 

The blonde shook his head again. “Not something I’m going to trouble you with. I’ve dragged you through enough hell, and what I need to do is...something I’m reluctant to drag my closest friends through, let alone someone I’ve only known for a few days. It wouldn’t be fair to lay something that big on you.”

 

Oh, man. Now he was _really_ curious, and that was not a trait he usually associated himself with. But Liam was just...a curiosity. He couldn’t help it. Though he had to admit, he was oddly touched at the notion.

 

Even if it was going to drive him crazy wanting to know what was being kept from him.

 

And here they were on the final floor, dead ghouls staring aimlessly about the storefront. They were positioned exactly the same way as they’d been last night, but MacCready still couldn’t help giving them the eye. Never knew if they were really dead or just playing.

 

_I know that far too well…_

 

And quickly shook that thought away before the choked feeling could overtake him. It wouldn’t do to have a breakdown in front of his boss that he didn’t want to explain. Even if he got the feeling the guy wouldn’t judge him for it.

 

Liam was pulling up his pipboy as he got closer to the door; probably plotting their next course. “Hey, so…” he said after a minute. “I know we were heading for those settlements I mentioned the other day...but we’re actually not far from Goodneighbor right now. Closer than the Library was, anyway,” he added on in a mumble. “Any objections to us heading back there? I kind of need to take care of something.”

 

It was amusing how the guy always asked for his opinion. Clearly, he was calling the shots, and had every intention of going where he planned to...but no one that had hired him had ever asked for his input before.

 

He shrugged, not really sure what to say. “Yea, sure, I’m ok with it.” And maybe he could find an opportunity to send out a package like he’d been wanting to… Yea, MacCready was definitely ok with this.

 

Liam nodded--“Ok.”--marking the destination on his map. “Goodneighbor it is then.”

 

\---

 

It was exactly how he remembered it.

 

Except for the lack of dead body on the front step. Apparently someone had finally gotten around to cleaning up Finn...or the scent had gotten bad enough to notice.

 

Not that Liam noticed the familiar “urine-soaked garbage” smell (as MacCready put it) of Goodneighbor at the moment. The gas mask worked wonders there. (And he did notice the sniper’s poorly hidden disappointment at it being back on his face. But he just felt like he needed it since it had been a little harder to keep control of himself after that dream-- _No don’t think about that. Smarter not to lose it in Goodneighbor._ )

 

The “guards” gave an appraising look as they passed--at him _and_ MacCready--but he paid them no mind. He’d already figured out from his first visit that it was better not to look at anyone longer than you should unless you were trying to make a point or were seeking attention. Be it good or bad. Or even both; you couldn’t tell with half of these drifters, and he had no intention of finding out.

 

The “Shroud” had done enough damage as it was.

 

_Don’t think about that either._ He’d already done enough of that back in Hubris, and even almost told MacCready about his involvement with the costume he still kept hidden away in his pack. Unless the sniper already knew and was just keeping quiet. He’d definitely been trying to choose his words carefully back there when talking to Liam…

 

Liam ducked into the welcoming shop, not noticing MacCready pausing at the door to watch him with suspicion.

 

“Well, hello there,” a gravelly but feminine voice greeted upon his entry. Daisy stood in her usual spot behind the counter, watching everything with a sharp eye despite her age, but she was smiling warmly nonetheless. “Always happy to see a friendly face in town. Or friendly gas mask in this case,” she chuckled. “Now, what can I do for you?”

 

Liam nodded in greeting, putting on an upbeat tone. “Just wanted to report on a ‘mission accomplished’.” It was almost tempting to toss in a salute. Almost. “Your book’s been safely returned and the library’s as quiet as a library should be now.”

 

Her eyes widened in surprise, the beginnings of a pleased smile forming on her lips. “Really? Well, that’s great news! I hope it wasn’t too much trouble...”

 

“Eh, not really.” Liam shrugged. “Some super mutants decided they wanted to take up reading, but it’s nothing we couldn’t handle.”

 

She raised a brow, seemingly bemused. “ _Well_ , if you’re sure. Most people wouldn’t call handling super mutants anything small. Hell, they’re not exactly _small_ to begin with.” Liam snorted at the remark. “And ‘we’ you say?”

 

“Yea. I had some help in there. Made it a hell of a lot easier.” He started to sound confused as she leaned to the side, something behind him having caught her eye.

 

She called out. “You gonna just keep loitering by the door, or you gonna get in here already?”

 

Liam glanced back in time to see the mercenary inclining his head so that the brim of his hat hid his reddening face, finally making his way into the shop. He hadn’t realized MacCready had stayed outside.

 

“Hey Daisy…” MacCready greeted, sounding rather...sheepish.

 

“‘Hey’ yourself, hot shot,” she threw back, humor tinging the annoyance that Liam suspected was more for show. “Heard you finally found someone to take you up on a job. Was getting worried you’d take just about anything and find yourself in some real trouble with how much you were asking around before.”

 

Wait. He’d been asking around for work? Like he was desperate? So MacCready _had_ been hard up for caps! Liam sort of wished he’d been charged more now, which was...odd really. How had MacCready even come up with a price like 250 anyway?

 

Daisy continued, neither of the two aware of the thoughts going through his head right now. “But if you ended up working for this guy over here, then I see I had no reason to worry.”

 

Now it was Liam’s turn to turn red. Damn it, his ears were probably giving him away, and he was sure MacCready noticed, just like he was sure the guy had noticed it happening earlier. Even if he managed to mask himself again, that was the one thing he always had trouble hiding.

 

“Hard to find anyone in this world who still has some common decency.”

 

MacCready blinked, frowning as he realized that last bit had been directed at him. “Hey, I can be charming.”

 

Daisy snorted. “When you wanna be.”

 

Liam snickered softly from behind his mask, but not so softly as to not be heard, as the mercenary turned narrowed eyes at him in a bit of a pout (that shouldn’t be adorable but was).

 

And then Daisy insisted on paying him for his efforts in returning her book and taking care of the super mutants. He hadn’t expected any payment, and was ready to refuse, but she made it really hard to turn down. (That glare could scare off a deathclaw.) Liam was ready for them to be on their way again, except...

 

“I’ll just be a minute.”

 

He regarded the mercenary curiously, but nodded, deciding not to press. “Alright. Meet me at the gate when you’re ready to head out.” And with that, he headed for the gun shop, hoping to swap the ammo he’d collected for something more useful, but unable to shake off his growing curiosity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: the book quest happened later in my game and my library exploration at the time was for the hell of it. =D I just thought it made more sense story-wise to have a reason to go to the library instead.


	19. Soggy Troubles

“I take it you two have some history?”

 

MacCready glanced at his employer from the corner of his eye, having somehow fallen into walking side by side down the street. It was still pretty quiet around here, so they didn’t need to be as tense or on alert as they normally would. “We go a bit back, yea. One of the few friendly faces I met when I first came to Goodneighbor.” He wondered how much he should reveal. That he had just dropped off some caps for Daisy to hold until the caravan was ready to head south again definitely wasn’t on his list of immediate things to share… Especially the reason  _ for _ sending caps. “Some idiots were harassing her, so I helped her take care of them and we’ve been on good terms ever since.” There. Vague enough but still got the point across.

 

Liam hummed in acknowledgement, admitting, “I don’t actually know her that well. I think she was just happy to find someone from before the war she could talk about ‘the old days’ with.”

 

Oh. Right. He hadn’t thought of that. Hell, he’d almost forgotten Liam was something of a relic.

 

“That why you were willing to do something as boring as return an old book?”

 

The blonde snorted. “Not quite. Or that was only part of it anyway. Mostly, I just like her.” The way that gas mask pointed at him, and with that mirthy tone of voice…

 

He was being teased; he was sure of it.

 

“You jackas-- _ jerk _ .” MacCready held back a laugh, even with the need to censor himself.

 

He swore Liam was grinning at him.

 

The rest of the walk along this side of the Charles stayed in a similar mood. Not even needing to take out some raiders in front of some memorabilia shop or skirting past a pack of scavengers that had staked claim on a nearby neighborhood had dampened it.

 

They made a quick stop at some old railway station called Oberland, one of the settlements Liam had mentioned wanting to check in on.

 

He watched with mild curiosity as the blonde looked over the turrets that were placed along some key points at the edges of the small plot of land (the farm was barely more than a glorified garden really), pulling out some tools and bits of scrap ( _ So  _ that’s _ what the scissors were for… _ ) to patch up some dings and bits of damage that must have happened from the defenses doing their job of keeping the place safe. He even asked the two living there how things were going, if anything in the area was harassing them and needed taking care of, if anything else needed fixing, hell, even about how the weather was treating them and their tato plants.

 

MacCready wondered if they even knew he was the General.

 

But he also got the feeling Liam preferred it that way.

 

With that, they were on their way again, Liam following the railroad track, and MacCready following just behind, trusting the blonde knew where they were going. Though he was a little hesitant when it came to the rail bridge ahead…

 

His boss kept moving forward, no problem, and it seemed to hold his weight just fine…

 

Taking a breath, the sniper set forth, keeping a steady pace to get this over with, all while not looking down at the slats beneath his feet where the gaps revealed the river way below-- _ no, keep your head up, don’t look down _ .

 

It wasn’t that he was afraid of heights. Hell, a good vantage point was useful to a sniper. But he preferred structures that were...more sound. Not things he could see through to the ground, or in this case, the river.

 

_ How the hell did I survive the Interchange... _

 

Didn’t help that Liam had hopped up and walked along the guardrail for part of the way. The guy had mentioned climbing things as a kid… Did he just...never grow out of it or something?

 

“Graygarden’s just up ahead,” Liam spoke up as they neared the other side. MacCready tried not to walk too fast. “They’re not actually part of the Minutemen.” The “yet” was obvious. “But I was hoping to take care of a problem they mentioned the last time I came through here so that maybe they’d join. Oh, but before we get there,” he hopped off the railing, turning to face the sniper and forcing him to stop, luckily, right where the bridge met solid ground. “I should warn you. The people there are a little...well, let’s just say not typical. They’re actually robots.”

 

…

 

What.

 

MacCready blinked. “Are you shi-- _ kidding _ me??”

 

The gas mask stayed steadily pointed at him, but why did he get the feeling there was a smirk hidden beneath? “Afraid not. Technically, they’re Mr. Handys. But not your typical Mr. Handys. ...or at least, the ones in charge aren’t...” He glanced away in thought before snapping his attention back to the sniper. “But you’ll see when we get there.” With that, he was off with a gesture to follow.

 

MacCready did so with a bit of perplexed hesitation, wondering just what the hell Liam meant, and what the hell he had gotten himself into.  _ Is there still time to run? _

 

Apparently not, as the tops of mutfruit trees crested the hill, along with the silver domes of the Mr Handys tending them. Liam walked past these, heading for the greenhouse MacCready could now see as he lingered on the old railroad track, watching the robots that tended to the plants with a critical eye. It wasn’t that he was put off by Mr. Handys or the idea that they could...handle things themselves. (Whitechapel Charlie at the Third Rail serving up drinks for customers with his “pleasant” personality came to mind.) It was just...the fact that Liam said that  _ only _ robots ran this place. Usually there was a human behind things. Someone who called the shots (even Whitechapel answered to Hancock). Made sure things didn’t go to hell.

 

Were they in the greenhouse and Liam had been pulling his leg about it being all robots? Maybe he should’ve followed his boss in.

 

Too late now, though, as the blonde was already heading back over, a sort of determination to his step, only pausing for a second to nod to a green-colored Mr. Handy that was also clipping away at and picking ripe mutfruit. (And was he imagining it, or was it humming??)

 

“Alright,” Liam spoke when he got closer. “Got the location we need to head to. Weston Water Treatment Plant. And luckily,” he pulled up his pipboy, MacCready assuming to poke at his map, “it’s just down the road. We might be able to make it back here before it gets dark.”

 

The sniper glanced over to the road at the bottom of the hill that ran under the end of the railway bridge. “And what, exactly, are we doing?” A water treatment plant probably meant getting water to run here again, but then...would the pipes even be functional?

 

“Mostly just figuring out what’s going on over there. Supervisor White said the water’s been kind of...funny lately.”

 

So there  _ was _ a supervisor! Liam probably had been messing with him then. But wait...

 

He raised a brow. “So they actually have running water here?”

 

“Yep. Saw the sprinklers in the greenhouse myself. Impressive that the pipes between here and there survived with no one tending to them, but,” the blonde shrugged. “There’s definitely something not right. They’re not really spraying like they should, and let’s just say my pipboy wasn’t too happy about me getting too close.”

 

MacCready frowned. “Maybe the pipes finally gave out. Hell, someone could’ve messed with them even.” Was this even worth looking at?

 

“Maybe. But that’s what we’re going to check. Sounds like a pretty recent problem. ...or recent in terms of a Mr. Handy. Who knows what that really means...” The gas mask drifted away for a few seconds before snapping back towards him. “So let’s, uh, head out I guess?” With that, he started heading down the hill towards the road.

 

MacCready swore he heard him muttering to himself, “What have I gotten myself into…”

 

\---

 

This could be a waste of time.

 

But then, it could also not.

 

Either way, Liam felt the need to try. The Handy in charge had said they had a big problem at Graygarden with their water supply, and if he could help them fix it, he might be able to convince them to join their array of linked settlements, further strengthening the Minutemen and improving its reach across the Commonwealth to help reclaim and rebuild it further. That was Preston’s hope anyway, and that guy deserved to see his dream grow. (If MacCready thought Liam was weird, then he’d say Preston Garvey was a freaking unicorn.) And there were a lot of people out there who deserved to have others to rely on. There hadn’t been enough of that before the war...but Liam put a pause on those thoughts.

 

For now, the pair traveled down the old street, weaving around abandoned cars and the occasional truck (and passing by the road that led to ArcJet; that felt like so long ago) until large cylindrical forms--storage tanks?--started to come into view.

 

Along with a bit of movement.

 

Liam stopped, frowning at the figures he could just make out ahead as he started to slowly make for the cover of the nearby brush and trees scattered at the side of the road. He heard the crunch of MacCready’s boots following suit, joining him to crouch amongst the foliage and a get bead on what they had to deal with.

 

“ _ You’ve gotta be kidding me _ ,” he heard MacCready bite out through clenched teeth.

 

“Hm?” Liam glanced back at him, noting the sniper rifle held up to his eye as he pulled out a rifle himself, the crude-looking pipe sniper with its mismatched scope. “...well shit.”

 

This was starting to become a theme.

 

“Why’d it have to be super mutants?”

 

Liam lowered his rifle with a grimace, keeping his voice low. “I swear to you, this was not an everyday occurrence in my life before I hired you.”

 

“Hey, don’t pin this on me!” the sniper hissed back.

 

“...well, I wasn’t going to, but…” Liam couldn’t help smirking, finding the humor in the situation despite the obvious danger they were facing.

 

MacCready looked ready to call him a jerk again, but he couldn’t help noticing the corner of his mouth fighting to turn upwards.

 

The blonde quietly chuckled, turning serious again as he eyed the front area of the water plant, counting off the number of figures he could see moving about. “How many of them do you think you could take out before they notice us?”

 

He saw MacCready turning to do the same from the corner of his eye, blue eyes darting about calculatingly. “Well, we’re in broad daylight… Even in cover, it probably won’t take them long to figure it out, even with super mutant thickness… I could probably line up two, maybe three headshots before they got too close?”

 

Huh. That was impressive. And Liam got the feeling the guy wasn’t boasting either.

 

“Alright.” He held the recon scope up to his eye again, watching as the targeting system marked everything living he swept it across--even the few in the shadows he hadn’t seen. An exceedingly handy feature of the scope. “Let’s see how many we can take out from here.”

 

He lined up his shot, pulled the trigger…

 

And just missed as his target suddenly changed direction.

 

Of-fucking-course.

 

And of course said mutant turned towards the shot, readying his own rifle and probably raising the alarm as at least five figures started moving more rapidly.

 

He went down a split second after Liam heard a gunshot from beside him. Followed by another hulking green form that had started to aim in their direction.

 

MacCready hadn’t been kidding.

 

Except now they were all running, which would make shots a little more difficult. It also wouldn’t be smart to stay in this spot for too long.

 

He took a shot of his own, managing to hit one of them in the shoulder, ruining their aim--

 

And sending a missile careening off into the air instead. Shit. That one would have to go fast.

 

He crept away, not wanting to stay bunched together in case they got smart. Besides, MacCready was obviously the better shot. If he could get them focused on himself instead, that would leave the sniper with better opportunity to take them out.

 

He turned back, firing off another shot at one running his way, armed with a pool cue of all things.

 

There was a sudden rapid-fire  _ whrrrr _ \--

 

_ What the-- _

 

Liam’s head whipped towards the half-flooded road just beyond the plant.

 

Wait, that was--

 

He aimed his scope to get a better view.

 

That was a vertibird! And...someone was clunking around in power armor armed with the mini-gun he’d heard, while a few others were scrambling around, firing off laser rifles--

 

What was the Brotherhood doing here?

 

“Heads up!”

 

_ Huh? _

 

He quickly lowered the rifle from his face at MacCready’s shout, turning his head to the side in time for his eyes to widen at the sight of a mini nuke about to be spiked into the ground by a super mutant--

 

_ Blam-- _

 

“Augh!”

 

The nuke bounced harmlessly to the ground, the hand that had been gripping it flopping soon after.

 

Liam snapped out of his shock, slamming the butt of his rifle into the super mutant’s skull, swinging it around to fire point blank under its jaw.

 

The body hit the ground with a heavy thud, the back of its head a bloody mess of exit wounds.

 

He stared down at it, chest heaving for breaths almost as fast as the rhythm of his hammering heart.

 

And whipped his head up at the crunch of dry grass growing nearer.

 

MacCready paused, brows raised as he carefully raised a hand in a sort of half-wave half-surrender.

 

Liam loosened the death grip he had on his rifle, carefully lowering it as he realized he’d started to bring it up out of instinct at the sniper’s approach. That’s when he realized it had grown quiet. The sudden  _ whrr _ of an engine starting made them both jump.

 

The vertibird.

 

He watched as it took off again, somehow having survived the encounter with the big, dumb, and uglies. Although...not without sustaining some damage of its own if the smoke pouring from one of the rotors was anything to go by. Yet somehow it stayed in the air, heading off to who-knows-where again, leaving a trail of dark streaking along behind it. He had no idea where the (surviving) Brotherhood soldiers had gone. Back on the vertibird maybe? Or up the road? Fort Hagen was a ways off in that direction, so that could be a viable destination for them, except being dropped off here and walking made no sense--

 

He was mentally babbling.

 

“Well…” MacCready started in a carefully calm voice. “That was...kind of intense…”

 

Liam let out a shaky breath.

 

The sniper eyed him just as carefully. “Are you...alright?”

 

_ Only thanks to you. _ Liam nodded. “Yea.” His voice had mostly lost the jitteriness he felt from adrenaline levels coming down.

 

Nearly dying in a nuclear blast did that to a person.

 

“Yea,” he repeated, more confidently. “I’m good. Thanks.”

 

MacCready eyed him with poorly veiled concern a bit longer before he finally nodded himself. He turned towards the now-quiet battlefield. “So, combined with the efforts of our...uninvited ‘guests’...I’d say we got them all.”   
  


“...yea.” He was saying that word too much. “Looks like. But I doubt the problem is out here.”

 

“Yea, I figured that…” The sniper frowned at the marshy land surrounding the water treatment plant. “Hate getting wet…” he muttered to himself.

 

Liam snorted. “Well, we’re about to go into a  _ water _ treatment plant. Getting wet is probably a given. Unless you’d rather head back; I could take care of the rest on my own.”

 

Now that frown was turned on him, closer to a scowl. “Are you kidding? I’d be a lousy hired gun if I left now. Besides...” The look turned scrutinizing. “Looked to me like you could use the help a minute ago.”

 

“...ok, you have me there,” he relented. “But,” he started to point out, “it should be darker in there. Which means opportunity for stealth. And with stealth…” He pulled out his silenced 10mm. “I tend to excel.”

 

“And it’ll also be an enclosed space,” MacCready countered. “If any of these dumb greenies are in there, you’re gonna need a little more stopping power than that little pea shooter. And that rifle of yours will just attract attention, so there goes your stealth. Which means a well-placed shot to get the job done quicker. Especially if another big guy is in there rigged up to go boom.”

 

…

 

Damn it, he made good points. And...hell, he didn’t even need to say who the better shot was.

 

Liam huffed. “Alright. Fine.” No convincing the sniper otherwise apparently. (He was oddly alright with this.) “But let’s check what kind of loot these guys have first.”

 

He ignored the smug smirk MacCready failed to hide. “You got it, Boss.”


	20. Well that's Handy

Some wet boots and a pocket full of caps later, they approached the front door.

 

Liam braced himself, keeping a steady grip on his assault rifle. Threw open the doors--

 

And was greeted by nothing. Just a bunch of overturned chairs and piles of rubble in an entryway type lobby with a secretary’s desk ahead.

 

It was also dark as he had predicted.

 

Liam looked around with a frown, suspicion levels rising at just how quiet it was.

 

Wait…

 

Just above the din of the secretary’s (somehow still working) terminal, there was this strangely familiar whirr-slice noise. It sent a chill up his spine. Even if no mutants had made it in here, there were still dangers hidden farther in.

 

He crept forward, seeing a bit of light coming from an open door--ah, there was a corridor past the desk, and it was all lit up. Though the way that bright light shined like a spotlight on the elevator back there sent that spine chill running again. But was he going to check it out anyway?

 

Of course.

 

But first…

 

He turned his attention towards the desk and the working terminal, relaxing a bit as the immediate area seemed secure enough. He saw MacCready do the same, squinting into the darkness to peer through the open doorway as he got closer to it.

 

“Huh. Locker room. I don’t know about you, but I’m not looking for new clothes, so we may want to skip it.”

 

Liam glanced up from his skimming of the entries (there wasn’t much; just something about a media event that never happened and the last supply order to be completed), glancing over at the sniper leaning against the doorframe. “Hey, who says I’m not looking for spares? Maybe I might wanna update my look,” he threw with a joking lilt.

 

“Heh. Yea, the faded beige doesn’t really scream ‘General of the Minutemen’ to me.”

 

“Maybe I like sneaking around in public. Ever think of that?” Liam brushed past the sniper, stepping into the locker room even though he didn’t expect much.

 

“Not likely to do much sneaking in here.” MacCready lingered for a moment, but followed him to start poking through the lockers, too. He gave up on that soon enough, though, heading for the employee restroom instead.

 

“Hey, you never know when I’ll need to hide my true identity.” There really wasn’t much in here. Mostly clothing that wasn’t really his taste. He didn’t blame the mercenary for getting fed up so fast. Except...

 

“Ha.” Liam held up his find. “Radaway. Beat that.”

 

“Try a stimpak,” was the smug retort as MacCready reappeared.

 

“...ok, that’s cheating. You got that from a medkit.”

 

He kept smirking. “Still found it before you did.”

 

“I would’ve gotten there eventually.”

 

“Still found it first.”

 

“...why’d I let you come along again?”

 

“‘Cause I’m better skilled?”

 

Liam snorted. “Maybe at being a brat.”

 

They continued to bicker like that as they headed for the elevator. MacCready staying smug, Liam pretending to be annoyed while hiding how amused he really was. But that came to a stop as the elevator descended, and became the farthest thing from their minds when the doors opened and Liam confirmed what that whirr-slice sound had been.

 

\---

 

“Well.” Liam clucked his tongue as they stared through the bank of windows they’d come across. “I’d say we found the problem.”

 

No kidding.

 

The whole place was flooded.

 

They hadn’t come across another turret thankfully, the one that “greeted” them now in pieces on the floor up behind them after nearly putting a hole through MacCready’s hat (he was not amused).

 

But this? This indoor swamp water? Hell, he’d take twenty more turrets over this. They better not be going swimming…

 

He was scowling by this point when he heard a series of tapping off to the side. Apparently Liam had found another terminal to look through. This better not be a waste of time again--

 

“Huh. So there’s a pump system.”

 

\--...maybe he should stop putting doubt in terminals. He waited for his boss to continue.

 

“Normally it’s automated, but since everything got so flooded, it can’t operate right. So we need to find all the manual switches by the pumps and pull them one by one. Says there’s four of them.”

 

Great. So they were going swimming. He frowned. “Got any ideas, genius? Or did you plan on growing gills?”

 

“Actually…” Liam seemed to be smirking as he walked over to a side panel and took hold of a lever. “I planned on  _ this _ .” He pulled the switch.

 

And a sound that could only be described as someone disgustingly slurping up some viscous liquid echoed through as the water levels began to go down.

 

“...like flushing a giant toilet…” he heard Liam mutter.

 

The pump must’ve had a set capacity it could handle, because soon the water level stopped receding. It revealed a series of catwalks in the room ahead, too, and a button by the sealed door to the side lit up.

 

“Well…” Liam stepped to his side to look out at the lowered water. “One down. Three to go.” The gas mask turned towards him. “Shall we?”

 

\---

 

“So I guess I’m making crab cakes for dinner.”

 

“...I’ll pass, thanks.”

 

The browraise was implied. “Oh? You’re missing out...but ok; it’s up to you.”

 

MacCready never was a fan of mirelurk. Too rubbery, too slimey, too salty, too...just  _ too _ . He hadn’t actually tried them in “cake” form before, but if he didn’t normally like the mutated crab meat, then why would he like it in a different shape? He’d probably settle for the actual cakes he’d found in the locker room. They were probably irradiated, but he knew for a fact they’d taste a hell of a lot better.

 

Right now he wanted to be as away from flooded water treatment plants (and the mirelurks that inhabited them) as he could get.

 

At least they could tell Graygarden their water troubles were done with for the time being and they shouldn’t need to go back (fingers crossed). Not that it mattered  _ that _ much since it had been raining from the moment they’d stepped back outside.

 

So much for drying out.

 

He gave the Mr. Handys tending to the mutfruit an odd look again as they passed them by. A few of them even beeped at him in a, dare he say, confused acknowledging way.

 

Liam was already entering the greenhouse when he glanced ahead again. He didn’t really want to stand outside again--not in this rain--so this time he opted to follow the blonde inside.

 

“Dahling! So good to see you!”

 

Huh?

 

MacCready sped up his walking at the--semi-tinny?--woman’s voice he could hear, weaving between planters and dodging the odd Mr. Handy, including an oddly brown-painted one, to catch up with his boss and see who he was talking--

 

“You fixed our water problem, didn’t you?”

 

\--wait, that was another Handy.

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

A... _ white _ Mr. Handy. Or Ms. Handy in this case? Were they even called that?

 

“Oh, such a gentleman, too. I simply must give you... _ something _ .”

 

Uhhh...

 

“Here. You can have some of our produce.”

 

...ok, he had not expected that, watching in something akin to awe as fruits and veggies were presented towards them, piled up in a basket.

 

“I’ll ask Greenie to give you a discount, too, if there’s anything else you need.”

 

...Greenie?

 

“Oh, another thing, my dear. Did you mention you were apart of the Minutemen?”

 

“I am indeed.” He was doing a good job of keeping up the charm. MacCready was sure he would’ve backed away a long time ago if put in Liam’s place. “We’re always looking for anyone willing to support us in rebuilding the Commonwealth and protecting its people.”

 

“We would simply be delighted to join your cause. Especially if there are any other gentlemen as pleasant as you are.” Did...one of its-- _ her _ \--eyestalks just flick in his direction? “Now I simply must get back to work. Ta ta!” With that, she floated off towards one of the other planters situated in the greenhouse.

 

He stared.

 

Then turned that unblinking stare at Liam, vaguely wondering if his jaw was hanging open.

 

The gas mask double taked towards him. “What?”

 

Was he serious? “Care to explain?”

 

“...explain…?”

 

The sniper stuck out an arm, gesturing at...all of the general area basically. “This place.”

 

“This place…?”

 

Was he playing dumb, or just that dense? “The fact that this place has no humans in it.”

 

The blink was implied. “Oh.” Liam glanced away for a second. “...I thought I told you this was a settlement of robots?”

 

He tried not to sputter. “I didn’t think you meant  _ all  _ robots. As in no people  _ at all _ .”

 

Liam seemed to cast an eye around the interior of the greenhouse. “Tell you what. Let’s continue this discussion outside…” He shifted the ludicrous basket of food off to the side where it’d be out of the way and made for the door. MacCready tried not to run after him, feeling like every Handy eyestalk was following him on his way out.

 

He followed his boss until they were a short distance away, standing just under the old highway so they were somewhat sheltered from the rain.

 

Liam took in a short breath and released it. “Ok, so...” He turned to face the sniper. “There was a human here once, from my time. A Dr. Edward Gray. There were some news stories about him even.”

 

...ok. That was a start. MacCready waited expectantly for him to continue.

 

Liam took the hint. “He was something of an...eccentric. And that’s putting it mildly,” the blonde muttered, shooting a glance past the sniper, in the settlement’s direction. “He wanted to created a fully self-operated farm--or something like that--using just Mr. Handy robots. But apparently he also had a love of television, so he decided to put that into his work...”

 

MacCready glanced towards the green Mr. Handy tending to the mutfruit growing outside, the sound of it humming just carrying over the rain.

 

“He gave three of the Handys here personalities based on his favorite tv shows. And he programmed them to be...more self aware. Self managing. Basically as close to human as you can get.”

 

One of the Handy’s eyestalks turned the sniper’s way. He tried not to flinch back as it waved an arm at him in greeting before going back to its pruning.

 

“They became the supervisors of Graygarden. White, Brown, and Greene, all painted to match their names. Even after Gray passed, they managed to keep this place running for two centuries.”

 

“But with no humans.”

 

“Right.”

 

It was...an odd concept to grasp. Robots could be programmed to stick to a task and keep doing it, which the “voiceless” default-looking Mr. Handys were obviously doing trimming away at and picking produce without pause. But eventually something could go wrong. He’d come across more than a few robots out in the wasteland that went haywire at the mere sight of him. He had the scars to prove it.

 

His reluctance to really accept the situation must’ve been showing on his face, because he heard Liam sigh.

 

“Yea, I know...it’s pretty crazy. But these robots...the three supervisors at least… Gray definitely did something different with them. He was something of a robotics genius. They’re pretty close to AI actually, so I see them more as people than machines. And I know for a fact there are robots that can feel and think for themselves. Even hope and mourn…” he trailed off quietly.

 

There was a question there that MacCready could ask, but it felt like one of those inappropriate to poke at things that he should shove away for another time. Just add it to the mental list and maybe he’d find out later. Or not. Who knew how long this...partnership? would go on anyway.

 

“So yes,” Liam snapped out of whatever heavy thought he’d fallen into, forcing on a more--and MacCready was starting to pick up on how forced it was--cheerful tone of voice. “I’m not sure what my original point was anymore, but, yes, Graygarden is run by only robots, and the Minutemen will definitely benefit from their help. They have more experience with growing food in the wasteland than anyone I know. And we should be able to provide them with extra defense so their farm is protected.”

 

“Right…” That could be the end of the conversation right there, but there was another thing that was lingering on MacCready’s mind. From that conversation in the greenhouse. “So uhh, that one robot in there… The white Mr-- _ Ms? _ Handy.” He could already feel himself turning red for even thinking of such a ridiculous thing, but here goes. “Was she  _ flirting _ with you??” And it was out. No taking it back.

 

“Uh--” Liam paused for a second, raising an index finger. “You know what, I’m not sure.” He was silent a few seconds longer, then nodded once abruptly as he started speaking again. “I’m just not going to think about it anymore. Let’s just--let Preston know that Graygarden’s willing to help the Minutemen now and leave it at that.”

 

He started walking towards the railway track, but paused again, before abruptly turning back towards the greenhouse. “But let’s take some of those veggies with us. I could use them in a soup…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could not be bothered typing out that whole water treatment plant quest. \o/


	21. Sanctuary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MacCready makes a decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of those semi-filler/mostly information chapters that was a pain to write, but needed to happen before I could get to the next bit.

MacCready had forgotten how quiet these open country areas could be.

 

They continued along the overgrown railway, bypassing some old and overturned train cars as they went--Liam pointed out via his pipboy’s built in geiger counter that one such car was a radiation hot zone that they should give a wide berth to--until they hit a road again. Aside from the occasional radstag that luckily kept its distance, they hadn’t run into anyone since Graygarden.

 

MacCready wasn’t familiar with this area, having never travelled this far north, but luckily his boss seemed to know it pretty well (the complete opposite of Downtown Boston). He even sent a wave towards some people (so there  _ was _ life out here!) at the Drumlin Diner as they walked past it.

 

“I helped them out awhile back,” was all the explanation he gave to the sniper.

 

They were eyeing MacCready with a tinge of suspicion, but no outright animosity (probably because of who he was traveling with) so he took that as a good sign that he wouldn’t get shot. As long as Liam was around anyway.

 

There were more roads that shot off from the one they were on, but those were ignored for the town he could see looming up ahead.

 

“Welcome to Concord,” he silently read off of a weathered sign.

 

A major location in the Revolutionary War, if he remembered right from the history books he’d once skimmed through as a kid. Rather dry material really, but with a limited library, one tended to read things one might not always prefer, if only to avoid getting bored with the same novel by reading it for the fourth time that week.

 

MacCready blinked out of his thoughts, realizing he hadn’t been paying much attention. Never a good idea. But this area…

 

“It’s pretty quiet here.” He observed in a hushed tone, afraid that anything louder might break the illusion.

 

“Yea…” Liam agreed, voice also low as if it was contagious. “Guess the deathclaw was a pretty good deterrent.”

 

MacCready froze.

 

What.

 

_ Deathclaw?! _

 

Wide eyes slowly scanned the crumbling buildings.

 

He hadn’t mentioned a--

 

That feeling by the library MacCready had had…

 

That paranoia he later felt silly for having...

 

Was this where the trap was finally sprung?

 

Liam slowed, shooting a glance back over his shoulder when he noticed the sniper was no longer following. He had to be blinking at him from behind that gas mask. “... _ oh _ ,” Liam finally said with a note of realization. He held up a hand in a placating gesture. “Sorry. I meant there  _ was _ a deathclaw here. Past tense. Not present.” He slowly lowered the hand as MacCready released the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “Actually, Preston and I were the ones who killed it. Bit of a crazy story, related to how we met. I might tell you later if he doesn’t first.” He glanced at his pipboy. “But it’s starting to get late. We should hurry before the sun sets in case someone does decide to show up. Hell, I’m surprised this place has stayed this quiet for so long.”

 

MacCready managed to gather his wits enough to shoot back, “Maybe ‘cause it’s in the ass-- _ err _ , backend of nowhere?”

 

“Ha,” Liam barked out a short laugh. “Maybe.” That was all he said as he turned to keep walking, obviously expecting the sniper to follow.

 

Not wanting to linger in case something was hiding among the rubble, he obliged.

 

\---

 

Backend of nowhere. Yea, that was pretty accurate.

 

Away from the crazy. Away from attention. A modicum of safety by lack of proximity alone.

 

All an illusion of course.

 

But still a “sanctuary” all the same. An apt name for his former neighborhood now turned up-and-coming settlement.

 

He could sense MacCready’s hesitation to set foot on the bridge right before they had started to cross it. Liam smirked knowingly. Sure, it looked rickety, and even had a section in the middle that had collapsed. But if it could hold six people and a dog all at once, including the set of power armor he had employed in taking out the deathclaw and decided to keep, then there was no way it was it going to crumble from just the two of them walking across it. And even if it did, the river wasn’t more than waist deep here. The bridge was more of a formality to keep from getting irradiated at this point.

 

An equally rickety-looking turret greeted them at the entrance. It was the first one he’d ever built, following a schematic he’d found in his... _ unbalanced _ former neighbor’s apparently homemade bomb shelter...but it got the job done. And he’d managed to improve the design for future builds at other settlements with the help of Sturges, the mechanic in the group Preston had been escorting across the Commonwealth to safety since their own settlement had been destroyed (another crazy story there). But he’d left this and the other “original” turret alone. Silly sentimentality and all that.

 

And speaking of Preston…

 

“General!” The former last of the Minutemen was strolling down the street, rifle in hand as he made his patrol, his other arm raised in a wave. “Good to see you made it back in one piece,” he greeted as he approached the two of them, glancing at the sniper curiously.

 

“It’s good to  _ be _ back,” he acknowledged the veiled concern in that observation. They’d parted ways right after dealing with Kellogg, when Nick had said they needed to head to the Memory Den in Goodneighbor. Damn, that felt like months ago now…but it had really only been a few weeks.

 

“I was starting to wonder if I should send word out, but I can see now that there was no need.” Preston was still eyeing the figure standing somewhat behind him, so Liam finally took the cue to answer the silent question hanging in the air.

 

“This is MacCready. He’s a new...friend.” He tasted the word on his tongue, thinking,  _ Yea, that seems about right. _ “We’ve been traveling together for a few days, and he’s been helping me out.” He watched the two size each other up, Preston cautiously curious with that “everyone’s got to have good in them somewhere” vibe he gave off, MacCready just cautious in general with his slow to trust attitude...until Preston held out a hand. He almost thought MacCready wasn’t going to take it, eyeing the gesture as if it was a snake ready to strike...but he finally accepted the offered hand, shaking it briefly. Liam felt himself breathe again.

 

Preston smiled, nodding as the two stepped back from each other. MacCready seemed to relax a little at that, nodding as well. It was hard to stay on guard around the Minuteman. “Always good to meet another citizen of the Commonwealth.”

 

“Uhh, yea…”

 

Liam almost snorted at the scene. Not many people knew what to make of Preston’s upbeat attitude, and MacCready was obviously no different. He decided to take pity on the sniper and catch the Preston’s attention. He did need to discuss a few things with him as it was. “So I managed to get Graygarden on board with supporting the Minutemen…”

 

Preston’s eyes lit up at that. He definitely had his attention. “That’s great news, General! We could always use more farms on our side. But if I may ask, how’d you manage to pull that off? Graygarden’s not exactly known for reaching out to anyone.”

 

“Well…” he glanced back at the sniper as he and Preston began to walk back through the small town, discussing as they went. “Let’s just say it was a very...wet ordeal…”

 

\---

 

This was...different.

 

MacCready stared at the cracked ceiling above the cot he’d been given for the night, trying to process everything.

 

While Liam and Preston--who really did embody the whole “let’s help the people of the Commonwealth because it’s right!” thing to an overwhelming level--had gone off to discuss recent events and whatever else Minutemen discussed, he had been left standing by the main house, wondering what he should do with himself. But that hadn’t lasted long. The resident mechanic had taken it upon himself to introduce himself and start talking his ear off about the place and the group of people he’d traveled here with. Even going to so far as to say how “any friend of the General was welcome here, so long as they don’t cause any trouble”.

 

While MacCready didn’t dare cause any trouble, and thought of doing so hadn’t even crossed his mind since he didn’t want to break the trust Liam seemed to have in him--an odd concept--the fact that he was being so welcomed in just  _ because _ he’d been brought here by Liam was...equally odd. Was the guy like their messiah or something?

 

…

 

Holy crap, he was, wasn’t he. The Minutemen had been gone, and then he’d shown up and been elected as their new leader. Then suddenly they were a big deal again, big enough to garner enough attention that there’d been a copycat scamming people under their name.

 

And all because Liam gave a damn about other people. A concept most people thought was extinct from the time before the bombs, yet the man who came from that time said it had been scarce then as well. Liam was an oddity now, and an oddity then.

 

And he had no idea just how important that made him.

 

Liam had come back from his conversation with Preston by that point, apologizing for “leaving him hanging”, as if he was just as important as Minutemen duties. Which was also odd. Though…he had introduced him to Preston as his “friend”... Did he actually mean that? And...were they friends? MacCready wasn’t sure...except...maybe…

 

There hadn’t been time to dwell on those thoughts--and even now when there was time he was having trouble processing them--as Liam offered to show him around the settlement.

 

_ “It’s still pretty rough,”  _ he had said, rubbing a hand sheepishly behind his neck as he’d looked around.  _ “But it’s come a long way since I came b--...well, since we all got here.” _

 

MacCready had noticed the slip. Another thing he’d added to the list that was needing a new mental sheet of paper to continue on at this point.

 

_ “But anyway,”  _ Liam had recovered gracefully, as always. _ “Here, I’ll introduce you to everyone else...if you’re ok with that,”  _ he had quickly added on. As if the sniper might not feel up to being social. Huh. Oddly considerate of him.

 

MacCready just shrugged at that, trying to ignore that odd feeling it had caused. Again. _ “Yea, sure, I’m fine with it.” _

 

Liam had smiled at that; he was sure of it.  _ “Great. Let’s go then.” _

 

And off they had gone, even if it was a short trip since most of the settlement hadn’t been touched upon for repairs yet and most of the focus had been on the main house with the workbench in its old carport. And the house across the street he later learned was Liam’s, which was arguably in even better shape somehow. MacCready had wondered about that at the time, assuming that maybe Liam had come here before leading this group of people to the settlement--Sanctuary, it was called--or maybe it had been kept up by a previous inhabitant that had departed before he arrived, or had been forcibly evicted…

 

All he knew was that he could see the silver shine of a robot hovering around in there and he was hesitant to go anywhere near it in case it was defensive.

 

Introductions were made. There was no way he was going to remember all their names, and the reception he received was rather mixed, but they were definitely an odd ragtag group in this settlement. There was even a face he recognized among them. The strange ghoul that had been hanging around the Rexford for as long as he could remember. He seemed really happy to see Liam again, too.

 

_ “I knew him,” _ Liam had told him after everyone had had dinner (somehow he’d never once gotten a glimpse of Liam’s face during that time; it was getting silly now) and he was showing the sniper where he could stay for the night.  _ “Before the war. He was the Vault-Tec rep that signed us up for the vault.” _

 

Huh. MacCready had heard some of the ghoul’s story while he was in Goodneighbor. That he’d been Vault-Tec. But that he was  _ the _ rep that had come to Liam’s door and gotten him into the vault? And Liam had met him again after all this time? That was crazy. Even crazier how Liam had taken pity on the guy instead of getting pissed off at him like MacCready was sure he would if put in the blonde’s position. But it all came down to Liam giving a damn about other people again. Extending a hand instead of being like others who would push away. Hell, everyone living here was only here because of him.

 

Preston had told the story over dinner, even if almost everyone already knew it. How their group had been pinned down at the Museum in Concord, unable to get to safety with those raiders surrounding them. And then Liam showed up, helped take them and their leader out--with a suit of power armor on the roof and a minigun ripped from the hull of a crashed vertibird no less!--and then a deathclaw…

 

What was he? Some hero from a comic book or something?

 

MacCready turned over in his cot, staring at the equally cracked wall as he continued to mull over his thoughts. His hand reached for the figurine hidden in his front pocket like it often did.

 

And he wondered.

 

Liam had helped so many people.

 

_ Continued _ to help so many people, and was looking to help even more people out there by growing the ranks of the Minutemen.

 

Could he tell him about…?

 

His fingers tightened around the small figure.

 

No. Maybe not about that yet. Even if he trusted Liam wouldn’t screw him over and actually gave a damn about him, he wasn’t sure he wanted to toss that kind of information out there. Not yet. Not until he knew he could fully trust him. But maybe...that other issue… He already knew about it, having overheard that conversation back at the Rail…

 

It was a crazy idea to even think of.

 

But tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow he was going to ask if they could take out Winlocke and Barnes.


	22. A Crack in the Mask

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know with that title. \o/ Titles are hard, man.  
> A late Merry Christmas to you all.

MacCready didn’t find his chance right away.

 

Liam wasn’t around.

 

According to Preston, he’d crossed the small bridge into the old park and hadn’t been seen for at least an hour. But apparently this was normal.

 

“I think he needs moments to himself every now and then, to process everything. This was his home. It’s gotta be strange seeing it the way it is now.”

 

_ His home… _

 

So Liam  _ had _ lived here before he’d brought the wayward group he’d saved in Concord.  _ Before the war. _ MacCready couldn’t even fathom what that must feel like. He could only guess, and know that every theory he’d come up with was more wrong than the last.

 

Feeling a little disappointed--and maybe slightly worried--he headed for the main house, not really sure what to do with himself.

 

It was pretty empty, but he could hear rustling sounds coming from around back, and the murmur of voices drifting through one of the windows. Snippets he couldn’t quite make out, but made him curious enough to step around the building.

 

The Vault-Tec ghoul and the married couple--the Longs, if he remembered right?--were tending to a small crop of corn and gourds in a fenced off area, making idle chatter about this and that. He wasn’t actually paying much attention to process the words and was tempted to just go poking into one of the more empty buildings of the settlement when he felt something bump his thigh.

 

Looking down, he came face to face with the biggest dog he’d ever seen that wasn’t a mutant hound. He tensed instinctively, thinking of grabbing his rifle--

 

But those brown eyes blinked at him with an unsure whine and tilt of the head.

 

MacCready blinked back.

 

\---

 

_ “...our best days are yet to come.” _

 

_ “...can only take it one day at a time.” _

 

_ “There will be changes [...] to adjust to.” _

 

_ “Just keep going.” _

 

_ “But everything we do...we do it for our family.” _

 

_ “That’s all anyone can do.” _

 

\---

 

He squinted in the morning light, the sun having risen higher in the sky. Even if it hadn’t, it always seemed brighter after ascending from the vault. The artificial light down there never did have the same intensity as the sun.

 

Liam rubbed at his eyes, following the familiar footpath back down to Sanctuary Hills. He double-checked his front pocket, finding the holotape securely in place, still slightly warm from when he’d ejected it from his pipboy.

 

He’d just...needed to hear her voice again.

 

Even if it did make him feel guilty that he hadn’t gotten much closer to finding Shaun yet.

 

But the Glowing Sea…

 

He needed to upgrade his weapons, bolster his power armor so it’d be more rad resistant. Maybe he should hit up Diamond City again and buy up all the rad-x, radaway, and anything containing lead he could find in the shops. It was an idea at least, and it would get him a little closer to finding that turncoat scientist.

 

Liam reached for his gas mask just as he hit the edge of the settlement--

 

And flinched back as a stick flew by, turning to watch it sail off into the nearby grass with a perplexed blink. He nearly took a step back as a blur of brown followed after it, snatching it up before eagerly running in the direction both had originally come from.

 

Liam blinked a few more times, glancing over to where Dogmeat had run. There was MacCready, involved in a mock game of tug-of-war as the dog playfully refused to give up the stick just yet.

 

He felt an amused smirk slowly tug at his mouth, dropping his hand from the gas mask hanging at his belt as he approached the pair. He raised a brow as MacCready managed to tug the stick free with a triumphant “ha!” and held it up just out of the dog’s reach, raising it up more as Dogmeat leapt for it eagerly with a bark.

 

Liam snickered a bit at the sight. “I see you made a new friend.”

 

MacCready’s head snapped towards him in surprise, even seeming to double take with a wide-eyed stare.

 

Liam felt his smirk fade a bit, raising his brow a bit higher in curiosity.

 

The spell was broken as Dogmeat made one final leap, snapping the stick out of the mercenary’s hand. He darted away, tail held high in victory, grinning happily around his prize.

 

Liam’s gaze turned to follow. “Game over I guess…”

 

“Yea...looks like…”

 

He sounded distracted, Liam decided, turning back to see the sniper was still looking at him oddly. He shifted his eyes away for a second, suddenly feeling self-conscious. “Uh, anyway…” He brought up a hand to scuff at the patch of beard at his chin, not quite able to meet MacCready’s eyes. “I was thinking of heading back to Diamond City today for a supply run if you’re alright with that.” He chanced a look at the sniper’s face again, finding him still staring. “So...I’m just going to get my pack. Meet me at the bridge when you’re ready to head out…” Still feeling unsure at MacCready’s silent gaze, Liam made to walk back to his house, reaching for his gas mask as he went.

 

\---

 

Liam looked younger than he expected.

 

Not that MacCready actually knew what he had expected. All he knew was, he hadn’t expected to catch Liam walking up to him in broad daylight without his gas mask on. How many days had they been traveling together? And he’d only caught him without it once--though not while he was actually paying attention, his mind pointed out, remembering how dark it had been in that comic shop.

 

Not like it mattered much either, seeing as Liam had emerged from his house with gas mask firmly back in place. (And slightly better quality if still cobbled together armor pieces. Not that that was his main focus.)

 

What color had his eyes been? The details were already fuzzing up a bit, but he distinctly remembered a lighter shade of blue, sort of a gray tint to it maybe. And--it had been hard not to notice--but the guy had  _ cheekbones _ . Really pronounced cheekbones. Even with the gas mask, he could still tell, right along the edges where it sat.

 

It wasn’t until they were across the Charles River that MacCready realized he had never asked Liam about taking out Winlocke and Barnes. He nearly swore at himself. Though it wasn’t like he would’ve gotten much chance on the road here, having to pick their way through the occasional scuffle, staying alert when there weren’t any signs of danger to detect and avoid any more fights if possible.

 

MacCready glowered to himself as they stepped through Diamond City’s gates, wondering when he would find the chance. He should’ve just gotten over his shock and asked back in Sanctuary. Hell, Liam might’ve been more open to the idea of helping him out back then, too, if he’d been comfortable enough to walk around without his face covered. ...or he assumed the guy normally wore a mask for security reasons. It wasn’t like he actually needed it. The sniper sure didn’t think the blonde had anything to hide…

 

He hung back as Liam did his shopping, only half paying attention to the exchanges being made, most of his attention on the people milling about the marketplace. This place might be one of the  most secure in the Commonwealth, and had plenty of guard on patrol, but it wasn’t like he could just turn off his paranoid instinct. It had kept him alive this long after all.

 

“...anyone fight back? I mean, the Institute’s gotta have enemies, right?”

 

Huh? MacCready turned his head, gaze following a couple of guys as they walked past, picking up on their conversation.   
  
“What? You mean the Railroad? That’s a fantasy, man. They don’t exist.”

 

“Nah, I heard from my cousin. He knows a guy that works for them. They got a code phrase and everything.  _ ‘Follow the Freedom Trail’ _ ...”

 

He felt himself frown.  _ Because that doesn’t sound ominous at all. _

 

“The hell is that supposed to mean? You’re full of it. That kind of talk is gonna get you snatched up by the synths.”

 

Their voices faded as they wandered out of earshot, conversation possibly continuing or changing to something else; it didn’t matter. All he knew was that kind of talk really would catch attention, and likely not the good kind--

 

“Freedom Trail...?”

 

MacCready did not nearly jump out of his skin. Nope. He hadn’t been scared to death; Liam just had such quiet footsteps that he’d caught him by surprise and--...ok so maybe he had been scared a little. Who wouldn’t, with a guy as sneaky as his boss?

 

“So that still exists?”

 

He blinked, turning to glance at his boss and seeing the gas mask pointed in the direction those guys had gone. “Yea, it’s...supposedly starts at Boston Common…” he answered, unsure why that had caught Liam’s attention.

 

“Huh. I knew it started there, but I didn’t know the actual trail still exists.” Liam turned towards him. “You know anything about this ‘Railroad’ group they mentioned?”

 

“Only what I hear from rumors. It’s not something people normally talk about out in the open.” MacCready felt that frown tugging at his mouth again. Why was Liam so curious about that weird group? They supposedly helped synths, and synths were...well, they weirded him out. Unless he was only interested because they had to do with something from the past. Was this going to turn into a sightseeing trip?

 

“Hmm…” The gas mask turned towards the side “alley” where a glowing neon sign pointed around the corner. “I wonder if Nick might know something…”

 

Alright, that was it. He couldn’t stand feeling like he was being left out of something. If he was going to end up along for the ride, he wanted the details. “Why the hell are you so interested in this suddenly?”

 

“It’s--...this is probably something that I shouldn’t talk about out in the open actually. But...” He was silent for a minute in what MacCready could tell was a mental debate with himself. Finally, Liam nodded, looking at him again. He could almost picture the grim set of his mouth. “I’ll tell you later.”

 

Normally when someone said that, it meant, “I’m not telling you shit. I’m just trying to get you to shut up about it.” Except the way he’d said it sounded like he meant it. Promised it even.

 

MacCready narrowed his eyes, nodding. “I’ll hold you to that.”

 

Liam nodded back, again turning his gaze towards the brightly lit heart. “Let’s go see if the Detective is in.”

 

\---

 

Unfortunately, the Detective was  _ not _ in.

 

But his secretary was.

 

“He’s following up on a lead right now,” she told Liam after informing him of Nick’s absence. “One that you gave him in fact. He wanted you to know that in case you stopped by while he was out.”

 

Liam nodded, grateful for the information. “Which station is he checking?” So he wouldn’t accidentally go there for no reason.

 

“South Boston.” The blonde noted that down in his pipboy while she continued. “By the way, Nick told me what happened with your case.” Her voice took on a more sympathetic tone. “Sounds rough, but I wish you luck.”

 

He wasn’t sure if she was being vague because Nick hadn’t told her much, or if it was because of the other person in their midst. (MacCready was currently lingering by the door, looking bored, but he knew the guy was listening in closely, picking at the unsaid words between the lines. He had proven to be perceptive like that.) Either way, he nodded, acknowledging her words. “Thanks. I could use it.”

 

They left the office not long after. Liam was disappointed by the outcome. He was hoping not only to see if Nick knew anything about the Railroad, but to use the opportunity to inform MacCready of what was going on. If he was going to stick around like he seemed determined to, he deserved to know what he was getting involved with. Then decide if he  _ really _ wanted to keep tagging along...or hit the road. Liam wouldn’t take offense if he did either. He might even send him off with some extra caps.

 

When most people heard the word “Institute”, they acted like you just told them a herd of deathclaws was standing right behind them. Armed with mini nukes.

 

Hell, that might be accurate. Or even worse.

 

Which was exactly why he wanted to know about the Railroad, and find them so he could talk to them.

 

If they were enemies of the Institute, then they might be willing to help him, or at least give him some more information.

 

He could use all the help he could get…

 

\---

 

Boston Common.

 

MacCready wasn’t sure if it was the stories, or how eerily quiet it was, like something unseen was lying in wait for the right moment to strike, but…

 

“Is it normal for the hairs on the back of neck to be standing straight up like this?”

 

Liam glanced back at him from where they were crouched in the shadow of an intact building. “Well...given how creepy quiet this place is...I’d say that’s a normal reaction.” He glanced down at his pipboy. “But this is where the Freedom Trail starts, so it’s not like there’s much of a choice, being here…”

 

Actually, there was. They were only here because Liam seemed convinced he needed to get in contact with the Railroad. It was bordering on obsessive really. But it might only seem like that because his boss hadn’t actually told him why he was so curious about them.

 

MacCready wasn’t sure when he would either. Except he’d promised to later. Whenever “later” was…

 

Hell, he hadn’t gotten to talk to Liam about his own plans yet either. To take out Winlocke and Barnes. He’d been itching to tell him all day, but there hadn’t been a good chance to yet.

 

Liam looked around, head constantly flicking down to check his pipboy as he did so. “Well...seems clear…” He turned back to the sniper, slowly getting to his feet. “Guess we just...stay on guard, and get it over with.”

 

Famous last words?

 

But, not wanting to abandon his boss in case things did go sour, he stepped out of the shadows after him, approaching the fountain where they could see a hastily scrawled on sheet of plywood set up by a sign for the “Freedom Trail”...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I never was a fan of how the game just adds to your quests "Follow the Freedom Trail" as soon as you come across these guys talking about it. I mean, that sign is in the Common; shouldn't that be what triggers it? I technically heard that conversation the first time Liam was in Diamond City. I just moved it to a place that made more sense. >>


	23. The Freedom Trail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When was MacCready going to get to have that conversation?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a day late. Not a big deal, I know, but I hate that it is anyway. It just needed that extra day so I could work out this one bit that _really need to happen already come on guys you're killing me!_  
>  Ahem. >>;  
> The last bit of this might be a little rough since I really wanted to post it as soon as it was done. And on the plus side, it ended up a little longer than usual. So enjoy I guess?  
> And happy 2018!

_ “Welcome, patriot, to Boston Common, the start of the, Freedom Trail…” _

 

The tour bot that had activated as soon as they got closer had nearly scared the shi--crap out of them, drawing their weapons on it immediately. Luckily, it didn’t seem programmed to react to combat, so they relaxed, MacCready at least feeling a little silly for how jumpy he had been. Although--his eyes flicked around the open space of the Common--who could blame him, considering where they were?

 

Liam hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the red line they could make out on the side of the road, the rumored “Freedom Trail” they were here to follow. “What can you tell me about this area?”

 

_ “Let us go back, hundreds of years. It is the year, 1775.” _

 

“Shit.”

 

MacCready snorted. The amount of regret Liam expressed with that one word alone was just...priceless. It almost made up for having to hear the mechanical telling of the start of the Revolution.

 

_ “Continue, on the, trail, to walk through more of, our, great city’s history.” _

 

It then rattled off--almost literally with how rickety the thing sounded--a few key sites that could be found along the trail.

 

“...interesting as that was, remind me never to ask any more robots for a history lesson.”

 

MacCready couldn’t help the smirk. “What? Sure you don’t wanna ask it to recount the entire signing of the Declaration of Independence next?”

 

The eyeroll was heavily implied. “Alright, smartass. Come on, let’s just--” He gestured towards the red-painted bricks intended to be followed along. “...hang on. What’s this?”

 

The sniper raised a brow, watching as Liam stooped down at the start of the red line. He took one more glance around to make sure it was clear, then stepped closer to see what had caught his boss’s attention. He saw the red lines and arrow on the “The Freedom Trail - Boston” manhole cover just as Liam muttered to himself.

 

“Seven. And...A?” He looked up at MacCready. “What do you think? Some sort of code?”

 

MacCready looked down at it again, noting that the letter “A” was definitely not the 7th letter in the alphabet. So that concluded… “Write it down I guess and we’ll find out?”

 

Liam was already pulling out some paper. “Exactly what I was thinking.” He jotted it down, readying his rifle again after. “Well. Let’s learn some history while shootings things.”

 

It continued on this way, the already long shadows taking over as the sun finally gave up for the day. Liam made a few offhand comments along the way--“That’d be where I went to find Nick”, “Huh. So that’s where the State House is.”--and by the second manhole, they could conclude they had to be following a code. He saw Liam cross out the first thing he’d written and start writing things out in a line instead, numbering across 1-7 with the corresponding letters they’d already found. Clever.

 

A sudden spotlight made them freeze. But it just turned out to be a Brotherhood Knight out on patrol, sounding somewhat bored and creeped out at having to be in a graveyard. Carefully sneaking the next bit of the code later, they were on their way again, the guy being none the wiser.

 

The area was starting to look a bit familiar. Goodneighbor territory. Still oddly quiet from the last time they’d been here. And there was Goodneighbor itself. MacCready almost wanted to suggest they take a breather here, not liking the idea of continuing to travel at night. But with the way Liam was focusing on that red line, climbing over rubble whenever they came to a spot that was covered up just to find it again...there was no chance they were stopping now. Not until they reached its end.

 

This was going to be a long night.

 

At one point after recording one of the letters, Liam just stopped dead in the middle of nowhere, out in the open. “...no. Wait--they didn’t...” He stared at the paper in his hand. “...they did, didn’t they.”

 

MacCready whipped his head around, feeling very exposed. Especially since there were signs of super mutant all over the place. Why did they have to stop in front of Fanoil? Fanul? ...Fan-whatever Hall. Everyone knew this place was overrun and to avoid it like the plague. Freaking trail… “What are you doing?” he hissed at his boss, not wanting to raise his voice.

 

“They actually made it--...but why so obvious? This can’t be right…”

 

“The hell are you going on about?” MacCready muttered, unable to shake the crawling paranoia of being out in the open. He swore they were being watched. He nudged Liam’s shoulder. “And can you have this realization while still moving so we  _ aren’t _ a couple of sitting ducks?”

 

“Huh?” Liam looked over at him. “Oh. Right.” He glanced around, before handing him the code he’d been “deciphering” as they went. “Just...take a look and you’ll see what I mean.” He started moving again after that at least.

 

MacCready of course followed, making haste to get into the relative cover of the alley beside the building. At least the Trail wasn’t going to force them to stay in plain sight. He couldn’t fight his curiosity, however, flicking his gaze at the paper he’d been handed.

 

“-A-I-L-R-O-A-”.

 

Liam had marked out 1 through 7 and been adding letters this whole time. The spot under the number 1 was still blank.

 

…

 

Wait a second.

 

_ Are you kidding me? _

 

It spelled--but why would they--

 

No wonder Liam had been so shocked.

 

“ _ Shit _ .”

 

_ Huh? _

 

MacCready glanced ahead in time to nearly collide with Liam’s back.

 

“Shitshitshitshit--” Liam was backing up at an alarming rate that he was having trouble keeping up with.

 

“What--”

 

“ _ Human! _ ”

 

_ Shi--fu--crap-- _

 

A hulk of green rounded the corner.

 

Chaos erupted.

 

Too fast to react--

 

Something slamming him into the ground with enough force to knock all the air out of him--

 

The beeping red light of a detonator held by a suiciding super mutant about to slam it into his head--

 

_ \--blamblamblamblamblamblamblam _ \--

 

A barrage of more bullets than he could count--one whizzing dangerously close to his nose--

 

The super mutant dropping the nuke harmlessly as it hit the ground with a thud, coming close to crushing his legs--

 

The pained grunts of more mutants being torn up by that same barrage of shots and skidding across the ground to land in sprawls of death--

 

The quiet that followed was filled only with his choked breaths as he fought to get air back into his lungs.

 

And the heavy breathing he could hear coming from somewhere off to his left.

 

He heard shifting less than a second later--“Shit.”--a hand carefully touching his shoulder as his boss appeared in his view.

 

“Shit, Mac-- I forgot that-- Nick and I didn’t-- We never went this way when we--” Liam deflated in a sigh, the panic leaving his voice as he regained control again. “Are you alright?” But only just. “Do you need a stimpak?”

 

MacCready was staring up at the sky, wondering if he was imagining that shadow standing out against the stars. “Is that a ship up on that building?” he managed to wheeze out. How hard had that mutant hit him?

 

Liam stared. He had to be frowning behind that mask; MacCready was sure of it. But he turned to look up over his shoulder, following the sniper’s gaze. “...ah. Yea, that’s a ship all right. Long story.” He turned back. “But I’ll tell you later, when you’re not lying on the ground surrounded by dead super mutants. Speaking of,” he pulled out a stimpak, injecting it before the sniper could protest.

 

Which Liam probably would’ve ignored anyway...and honestly he was kind of glad, feeling the heaviness in his chest begin to let up as it became easier to breathe. Dealing with that would’ve sucked.

 

He sat up when he was sure the stimpak was done working, ignoring the hand Liam started to raise to protest him getting off the ground yet...even if his vision  _ did _ swim a little from the movement.

 

“Whoa, careful there.”

 

“I’ll be fine,” he insisted, not sure he actually believed it. Probably needed another stim to be fully ok, but he already didn’t like that Liam somehow kept needing to give him his. He decided to change the subject to steer Liam’s attention away from himself. “By the way, what you were saying before, after all this…” He gestured towards the mounds of green that were full of quite a few holes from a semi-automatic. “...sh--stuff happened. What did you mean by Nick and you never going this way?”

 

That gas mask stared silently at him. It was unnerving as always, but somehow he could picture the frown that Liam probably had on his face. While the guy could be completely oblivious about his surroundings, he seemed pretty damn insightful when it came to people. The mark of a leader. Probably what Preston had seen when asking the blonde to head the Minutemen.

 

Liam’s covered gaze shifted slightly away finally, that feeling of being scrutinized lessening along with it. “Nick and I were in the area recently. I was helping him out on a case and it led us to this building, but...we never actually went around this side of it. It might’ve still been clear if we had. Like the rest of the area.”

 

The guy had so much guilt weighing his voice, it was starting to make MacCready uncomfortable. He shrugged, playing it off as nothing. “More mutants could’ve easily shown up. Crap like that happens all the time.”

 

The mask snapped back towards him. “But I wasn’t expecting them. I should’ve been paying more attention.”

 

That was true, sure, but the same could be said for the sniper. He had been hired to watch his boss’s back after all. Not the other way around. “I wasn’t paying attention either, so.” Again, he shrugged. “Just as much my fault we were caught off guard.”

 

“But I dragged you along.”   
  


“I chose to follow you.”

 

Liam was silent. Probably trying to come up with another argument. MacCready decided to beat him to the punch.

 

“You hired me to watch your back, and that’s what I’m going to do.” He made sure to inject as much resolve into his voice as he could. “Now, we were going to keep following the Freedom Trail, right? Find these...weird...people…” Probably not smart to throw the word “Railroad” around. “And I don’t know about you, but I don’t like the idea of sitting here where something could be drawn by all that gunfire, let alone the smell of blood.”

 

There was the staring again. He should start keeping a record of how many times he could get that to happen in one conversation. ...but maybe he really should go for another stimpak first. His thoughts were going a little silly; could be concussed for all he knew.

 

Liam slowly turned his head to the side, giving off the impression he was studying MacCready from the corner of his eye. “Yea...we should keep moving…” he finally conceded. “But in the future,” he looked fully away to start digging through his pack, “don’t hesitate to ask for stimpaks. If you need them, I have plenty.” A handful of stimpaks were held out as if in demonstration of this, the blonde wordlessly expecting him to take them. Still, the sniper hesitated, so Liam continued, a smirk coloring his words. “Hell, you’d probably do a better job of watching my back if you were on your feet.”

 

…

 

Ok, he couldn’t argue with that.

 

MacCready looked away with a scowl, but he managed not to grumble as he took the damned stimpaks. If they were being offered so insistently, then he might as well, right? his mind pointed out.

 

His mind could go shove it...but he definitely felt like he could stand up again as he injected more of the healing medicine.

 

Liam made no more comment on the matter as they started on their way again, finding that red line on the road and then  _ re- _ finding it whenever piles of rubble cut it off. But as they went, MacCready couldn’t help thinking…

 

_ He really does give a damn. _

 

_ More than that. He cares what happens to you. _

 

…

 

Damn it, when was he going to find the chance to ask him?

 

\---

 

They ran into another would-be ambush along the way, luckily seeing it coming before the super mutant sitting at its cook fire could get into position. Paul Revere’s house now had a new “lawn ornament”--or cobblestone street ornament?--in the form of a mutant hound.

 

A question in aim later ( _ Pop-- _ “Did I shoot a car by accident?” -- _ KrakOOOOOOOOM-- _ “...I guess that answers that question.”), they rounded the corner, catching sight of the statue of Paul Revere himself on horseback (obviously in commemoration of that historical night) just as the sun began to rise, painting the statue with an orange glow. It could almost be considered awe-inspiring.

 

If it wasn’t covered in bird crap.

 

“Some things never change.”

 

Liam heard a snort behind him.

 

And at the foot of the stairs sat the last marked manhole. “1-R”. It had already been obvious, but that confirmed it.

 

The Railroad had set up a code for “Railroad”. He still couldn’t wrap his head around them being-- ...for a secret organization, they were decidedly  _ not _ secret. Hell, there was a lantern painted right next to the door of the Old North Church! How had no one found them yet?

 

“These guys sure like to advertise…” MacCready flatly agreed with Liam’s thoughts without realizing it.

 

“Yea…” Except there had been dangers along the Trail to deal with. Probably would’ve been more than just that scuffle by Faneuil Hall if it’d been in the middle of the day and them being less sneaky for most of it. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be hard to find, but rather, hard to maneuver if you weren’t skilled enough. A test, if you will.

 

And Liam felt like they’d come to the essay portion of it.

 

“So,” he turned towards the sniper,” shall we?”

 

Inside the building was a mess. But what had he expected? If this was where the Railroad was hiding out--rather poorly in his opinion--or where they met up with anyone seeking them, it would make sense to have a mask of no one being here.

 

Or it would seem that way if not for the semi-freshly painted lantern on a nearby wall.

 

A wet gargle snapped his attention back to the main part of the room as the somewhat slimy sound of feral ghouls crawled free from the rubble.

 

He didn’t notice as MacCready tensed up, shrinking back as if to hide behind his boss.

 

Was this a trap? A ploy to take out anyone seeking the secretive group so they would remain a secret for good? Or maybe another test…

 

_ Well, guess it’s a good thing I sharpened my pencils. _

 

Liam stuck to the shadows, watching the ghouls wander around aimlessly as they hadn’t spotted the pair yet, and pulled out his silenced 10mm. Three shots--one had missed--and the two forms he could see shambling about in the low light were taken out. The sniper released a breath from somewhere behind him. He glanced back, seeing the guy had nearly flattened himself against the wall. A blonde brow went up, unseen behind the mask.

 

His silent staring must’ve gotten the point across, though, MacCready noticing he’d drawn Liam’s attention and shifting his expression from mild fear to mild annoyance. The blonde made no comment on it, instead flicking his head towards the mark on the wall and the doorway he could spot hidden near it. “Looks like we go this way next.” He barely got a grunt of acknowledgement at that before they headed for the direction of the painted lantern.

 

It was green.

 

First thing he noticed after stepping through that doorway. It looked like someone had spilled some kind of bioluminescent paint on the floor in random spots that was giving off this green glow. And it continued when they reached the bottom of a set of stairs that led into a series of old brick tunnels. Was this the church’s crypt? As if this wasn’t eerie enough...

 

“Ah...hey, so…”

 

Liam paused, stopping to look over his shoulder when MacCready spoke. He saw his eyes flick away in indecision, as if there was some internal struggle going on inside his head. Liam waited patiently, wondering if something was wrong. Was it the atmosphere? Because he could understand. Or maybe it was about what had happened up on the main floor of the church. Finally, MacCready seemed to reach a decision, raising his head to speak again.

 

“Before we head into the creepy green tunnel to who-knows-what...you got a minute?”

 

“Sure.” He glanced ahead to make sure the area was clear, turning back to give the sniper his full attention. “What’s up?”

 

“It’s, ah...I’m not exactly sure how to say this...so I’m just going to start this a different way…

 

“It’s been...nice. Being out of Goodneighbor for awhile. It was starting to wear out its welcome.”

 

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

 

MacCready was silent for a moment while he formulated his thoughts. “Put it this way: good place for work; bad place to actually  _ live _ . Kind of hard to get any rest when you need to keep up your guard. Unless you like getting stabbed in the back when you’re not paying attention. And I couldn’t exactly set up anywhere else. Thought of trying Diamond City, but there’s no way they’d let that happen. I’d be run out of town before I could even get one word out, and wandering the Commonwealth alone isn’t the brightest plan when you’re hard up for caps.”

 

“But you’re sure there was nowhere else you could get work? Less dangerous maybe? Caps aren’t worth risking your life.”

 

“Easy for you to say.” The words were bitter-edged. “Right now, I need every cap I can get.”

 

Liam blinked, tilting his head with an unseen brow raise. “Are caps really that important to you?” He knew MacCready was hard up for money, but...just  _ how _ hard up he was was another matter.

 

“If I wanna stay alive, they are. Look.” He turned even more serious. “This is more than I’m used to telling people...but you seem to give a damn about what happens to me, so I’m going to be straight with you. You saw those assh--argh...those two idiots at the Third Rail, right? Winlocke and Barnes? That wasn’t the first time they were bugging me, and every time they have, no one would hire me for awhile. Didn’t wanna have anything to do with an ex-Gunner. But I figure that if I get enough caps together, then maybe I can buy them off so they’ll finally get off my case.”

 

MacCready sounded as doubtful as he did hopeful. Liam frowned again. “How many caps do you need?”

 

“Honestly?” He shook his head with a bleak expression. “I don’t know. And for all I know, they’d just take the caps and kill me right on the spot. Doesn’t help that they’re not exactly known for running on their own. Any meeting I set up they’ll probably drag along their whole army, so I bet that even if they  _ did _ agree to leave me alone, they wouldn’t extend that agreement to their troops. I’m screwed no matter what. So I’ve been thinking...would maybe... _ you _ be willing to help me out? And before you make a decision, I have thought this through. I’ve got a plan. It’s not a solid plan, but it’s a start.” He paused, waiting for some sort of acknowledgement.

 

Liam’s attention was fully caught at this point. He inclined his head, debating on lifting his mask off to emphasize how closely he was listening. But MacCready got the idea anyway, continuing on to explain what he’d come up with.

 

“So I was thinking...you’re pretty sneaky. I mean, your aim kind of sucks--” Liam tried not to scowl, even though he was fully aware he needed more practice,  _ and _ a better balanced rifle. ...but mostly practice. “--but when you wanna stealth,  _ damn _ are you not fooling around. I thought that maybe if we sneak up on them in the middle of the night and lurk in the shadows...we can take them out without anyone being the wiser. No more Winlocke and Barnes hounding me. So, ah...what do you say?”

 

It was crazy. Extremely risky.

 

It was exactly like his army days. The stealth expert among the group he led, he would execute the highest risk portions of any covert, cover-of-darkness mission they found themselves in. Even if he wasn’t the most observant or even the best at planning, he knew his men well. One of them had been a brilliant strategist (who sometimes needed to have his ego quelled due to the high intellect he knew he possessed, and often flaunted), who would come up with the best of their plans, laying them out for Liam to follow, and continuing to feed him information over radio communications when available. Hell, the only reason he hadn’t been the one to rise in ranks as the group’s leader was due to charismatic levels. The other members of their team showed promise in stealth as well; not the same level as his, but promise enough. He would have them running along in flanking positions while Corporal Liam O’Keeffe would spearhead their movements, always the one to execute the plan first.

 

His silence must have lasted a little too long for the sniper’s comfort. Liam already knew the guy was being out of character by sharing anything about himself. He’d been pretty closed off with personal information this whole time. Almost wearing a mask of his own. A mask that was threatening to go back in place again. “Look. If this is too big of a task, I get it. You’re a busy guy. Hell, we’re busy right now even.” He was backtracking out of awkwardness. Liam steeled himself before it went too far and MacCready retracted his idea completely. “But let me say that I wouldn’t even be asking if I didn’t trust you.”

 

“If you need my help, I’m there,” was the response. No hesitation. All resolve. The merc--no, his partner, needed help, and he had come to him for it.  _ You’re trusting me with your plan. Trusting me to help you,  _ hoping _ that I can help you. Damn right I’m gonna do my best, even if this all goes to hell. Better than doing nothing. _

 

“Wait, really?” MacCready was all wide eyes and blinking. “You’re seriously going to help me? Even knowing we might be up against their entire-- Damn, that’s…” Wait, was he about to cry? “I’m not really sure what to say. No one’s really given much of a damn about me. Not since I was a kid. You really are a weird guy, you know that?” He smirked, but there was an underlying warmth to it. “Tell you what. If you really are serious about this, Winlocke and Barnes have their base at the Mass Pike Interchange. That’s where we’re sure to find them, and take them down. Even if we don’t, thanks for hearing me out. It’s nice to know that you care.”

 

That conversation played over in Liam’s head the rest of the way through the tunnel, his body working on autopilot whenever they came upon more ghouls lurking in the rubble.

 

Was MacCready basically alone in the world? If so, that was pretty fucked up. No one deserved to go through life with no friends. He assumed no family, too, but...

 

_ “I’m taking a huge risk being out here in the Commonwealth…” _ the sniper had said back when they first met. He must have someone out there he could rely on, but not in this area. So that was as good as being alone.

 

_ “...you seem to give a damn about what happens to me…” _

 

Yea. He did.

 

Even now, Liam was trying to remember the best way to get to the Interchange. Hopefully it was still possible to go that way, given the considerable damage to all the highway systems…

 

They rounded another corner.

 

Dead end.

 

Liam’s brow furrowed. Had they missed a turn somewhere? There had been a few offshoots, but those had looked less promising than the one they’d gone down.

 

Wait.

 

He spotted another lantern painted on the floor, facing the wall.

 

“Hey. We got something here.”

 

He looked up, finding the sniper gesturing towards the wall next to him. One of those manholes that had marked the trail was stuck into the wall, “The Freedom Trail - Boston” shining clearly in the green lighting. As well as a small red arrow pointing up at the first “T”. Liam raised a brow, stepping closer to take a better look.

 

Wait, there was a wire sticking out from the side of the bricks there, disappearing into the wall. His eyes followed the line, going back over to the metal disc.

 

“The hell do you think is up with this?” MacCready thought out loud.

 

“Hmm...I wonder…” Liam brought up a hand to brush against the marker.

 

It moved beneath his touch.

 

His brows went up.

 

This time he put more pressure on it, causing the ring of words to shift a bit.

 

“Huh. It spins.”  _ Yes, Liam, it spins. Astute observation skills there, _ he couldn’t help mocking himself. He ignored his own self-criticism, instead turning towards the sniper. “You don’t think…”

 

MacCready caught on, brows going up. “That code we found.”

 

The blonde nodded. “Worth a shot.”

 

Slowly, he turned the wheel to the “R” in “Freedom Trail”, placing his hand on the center portion that hadn’t turned and putting pressure on it out of curiosity. It pressed in, a short click following.

 

That was promising.

 

Quickly but carefully, he input the rest of the letters, pausing when he reached the letter “D” to look over towards his partner. “You ready for this?”

 

“Are you kidding?” He sounded as eager as Liam felt. “I’ve  _ been _ ready.” And definitely impatient.

 

“Alright.” Liam steeled himself with a breath, and pushed the button in one final time.


	24. Lanterns Cast Little Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _...but they can reveal many shadows..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo boy, this was a doozy to get out. Almost thought I wouldn't finish it tonight, or at least not have the final scene in it that it has. And then I would've felt bad for making you guys wait another week. |D  
> Anyway, enjoy.

MacCready couldn’t believe it.

 

He watched anxiously as the final letter of the code was entered, this  _ shifting _ noise filling the place...and he nearly jumped as a portion of the brick wall slid back to reveal a darkened opening. He could imagine Liam blinking as he looked back at him, maybe sliding his eyes back to the entryway a few times in a silent question of  _ ‘shall we?’ _ with his brows raised.

 

MacCready followed him through, hearing Liam mutter about it being dark as hell in here and maybe using his pipboy light, but he couldn’t help thinking of his boss’s earlier words.

 

_ “If you need my help, I’m there.” _

 

He was actually going to (eventually, pending how long things took in here?) help the sniper out. It was too surreal for him.

 

He had finally told Liam about his plan to take out Winlocke and Barnes--and really picked his location, hadn’t he? But it wasn’t like he’d found a better moment that day...or previous day rather, since the sun had been rising before they’d entered the Old North Church.

 

_...we went a full night without sleep again _ , he realized.

 

And then the lights came on.

 

“ _ Stop. Right. There.” _

 

MacCready reached for his rifle reflexively, squinting against the glaring spotlight directed into his and Liam’s faces.  _ I wonder if that gas mask blocks any of it. _

 

Whoever it was that had spoken--he thought he could see three people ahead--continued, unperturbed by the two of them having their own weapons drawn. (Holy crap, was that a minigun?) “You went to a lot of effort to arrange this meeting. But before we go any further, answer my questions.  _ Who the hell are you? _ ”

 

“Why don’t you tell me who you are first?”

 

How the hell was Liam so calm when they had a  _ minigun _ aimed right at them?

 

“In a world full of suspicion, treachery, and hunters, we’re the synths’ only friends. We’re the Railroad.” The woman in the middle of the three, obviously the leader, spoke just as calmly, and dare he say, with a touch of amusement--or was she impressed at how calm and collected Liam seemed?--at the gall to ask questions at a time like this. “Now answer my question.” She was definitely used to being in control of things.

 

“We followed the Freedom Trail to find the Railroad. We’re not your enemy.”

 

“If that’s true, you have nothing to fear.” Still that underlying threat of ‘I’m watching you’. MacCready kept his mouth shut, hoping Liam knew what he was dealing with. “Who told you how to contact us?”

 

While Liam answered, the sniper didn’t fail to notice as another guy slipped in from a hidden passageway to join the ranks of the three. He seemed less threatening somehow, but...oddly familiar. MacCready frowned, not letting down his guard while he mentally scrambled to remember why those sunglasses were pinging at his memories.

 

“We overheard a rumor about you guys in Diamond City.”

 

“I see.” The brow raise was subtle; he wasn’t sure what it meant. “I’m Desdemona, the leader of the Railroad.” Not that they couldn’t tell that already, but admitting it was pretty ballsy. A test of their character maybe. “And you are--”

 

Her head whipped over her shoulder suddenly, staring directly at sunglasses in the shadows as if she’d sensed his presence. “--Deacon. Where have you been?”

 

“You’re having a party. What gives with my invitation?” He sounded as casual as he was dressed. Way too calm for a situation like this.

 

“I need intel. Who is this?”

 

“ _ Wow. _ News flash, boss.” He turned towards the blonde across the way. “This guy is  _ kind  _ of a big deal out there.”

 

The frown was audible in Liam’s voice. “Do we know each other?”

 

“I didn’t need to meet you to hear about you. You have made waves.

 

“Does the  _ Silver Shroud _ mean anything to you?”

 

MacCready blinked-- _ Wait… _ \--turning towards his boss as Liam visibly tensed.

 

“I heard he took out Sinjin’s gang all by himself.”

 

_ Wait, that was-- _ He’d heard about someone becoming the Shroud, but--

 

“Pretty remarkable, huh?”

 

“Not as remarkable as you think,” he heard Liam mutter darkly, a heavy guilt coloring the words. MacCready’s brow furrowed, feeling a spark of concerned curiosity. That mental list of his gained a new addition.

 

“Annnd, as if that wasn’t enough… The Railroad owes you a crate, heck, a  _ truckload _ of Nuka Cola for what you did to Kellogg. He was our public enemy number one.”

 

Wait, did he say Kellogg? MacCready almost asked that out loud, too, the name bringing up some foul connotations as he remembered it being tossed around during his time in the Gunners as someone to avoid at all costs. Even forgoing a contract if there was even the hint of a rumor that Kellogg was interested in it. No one was to dare cross the guy. And his boss-- _ partner _ , he reminded himself--had taken the guy out? The sniper fought the urge to take a step away from Liam as the tension radiating off him became extreme.

 

Desdemona raised a brow at Deacon. “So you’re vouching for him?”   
  


“Yes, trust me. He’s someone we want on our side.”

 

She turned eyes widened in amazement back to the blonde. “That changes things… But what of his friend here?” And there went the amazement, replaced with suspicion once again.

 

MacCready studied the group, raising a brow, almost daring them.  _ Yea, what  _ about _ me? _

 

“Robert Joseph MacCready.” He fought the urge to scowl. Though he swore Liam actually dropped his shoulders a bit in surprise and turned his head a little to look back from the corner of his eye. “Ace sniper. Ex-Gunner turned freelance mercenary. Takes almost any job that’ll pay. But he’s been following this guy here for the past week, and already took part in some of his wave-making.”

 

He narrowed his eyes, dislike increasing at this sunglasses-wearing guy. Who wore sunglasses indoors anyway? “You been spying on me?”

 

“You’re not exactly hard to find. Those two  _ fine gentlemen _ you know certainly track you easily enough. Talk about finding it hard to cut ties.”

 

How the hell did he--

 

MacCready was finding it very hard not to shoot this guy, and  _ where the hell did he know him from?? _

 

A hand landed on his shoulder. His attention snapped towards Liam, that gas mask subtly shaking once his gaze was caught before inclining slightly downward. MacCready glanced down as well...and relaxed the tight grip he didn’t realize he’d had on his rifle, shifting his finger as far away from the trigger as he could get it without fully letting go. He noticed that while Liam still had his pistol out as well, it had been hanging relaxed at his side for some time.

 

So he didn’t really trust these guys either, but he didn’t want to threaten them. Yea, made sense. They’d gone through too much trouble to get here, and Liam had wanted to meet them for some reason. While he didn’t like this--especially Mr. Creepy Stalker Sunglasses over there--he didn’t want to ruin this meeting for his boss. Even if he wasn’t sure where it was leading...or if it might make Liam too busy again…

 

_ Damn it, maybe I really should have waited to say anything. _

 

“While we’ve certainly known worse individuals…” Desdemona spoke again, not commenting on the silent exchange that no one could have missed. “...that doesn’t exactly bode me with confidence.”

 

“I trust him,” Liam spoke right away, surprising the sniper with the amount of conviction he inflected in his voice. “If I’m as big of a deal as you say, then that should be boding enough.”

 

“Hmm…” She regarded the two of them curiously. MacCready was starting to think that him coming here with Liam had been a mistake. It was too late now, but this was already screwed up. If they decided he wasn’t trustworthy enough because of his stupid past, then they might get kicked out, and then the trip here would have been for nothing.

 

“Very well.” He tried not to jump when she finally spoke again. “But remember, this is on you. A reputation can only carry so far.

 

“Now, the important matter at hand… Why did you want to meet with us?”

 

“I’ve heard you’re the only organization fighting against the Institute. I have a score to settle with them.”  _ Wait, what?! _ MacCready turned wide eyes on the blonde. Was he serious??

 

Liam ignored him.

 

Desdemona had a much less surprised reaction, almost as if she’d expected the response. “I’d like to say that nobody comes here out for revenge, that everyone’s here to help their fellow man… But if I’m being honest here, very few members of the Railroad have been spared tragedy at the Institute’s hands. It’s the blood-laced glue that binds us together. Now, if we’re going to be dealing with you, I need to be sure we’re on the same page. You know what a synth is, right?”

 

The gas mask tilted a bit, but not in a questioning or confused way. It felt more like he was studying the people gathered across the way, reading between the lines. “I know enough.” Or he could just be bluffing. MacCready couldn’t tell at this point.

 

Whether the Railroad’s leader interpreted the words this way or not, she didn’t make any indication, carrying on as if she’d expected them. “Good. The Institute treats synths as property. As tools.”

 

And Liam continued that cool calmness. “Why does the Institute treat them that way?”

 

“They’re playing God. Tinkering with things they don’t fully understand. From that lofty vantage, it’s easy to deny their creations’ very humanity. So we seek to free the synths from their bondage. Give them a chance at a real life.

 

“I have a question. The only question that matters. Would you risk your life for your fellow man, even if that man is a synth?”

 

“I’m going to need more details than that.”

 

“Answer with your gut on this. Your heart. If you had to put yourself in danger to save a synth, would you do it?”

 

“It depends on the circumstances.”

 

“There’s no middle ground with this. Would you risk death to save a synth or not?”

 

“There’s always a middle ground. It depends on the person I’m helping. If they’re a good person, hell, even a shit person but they show redeeming qualities, then that’s all that matters. I could care less about their origins.”

 

Desdemona’s eyes narrowed this time in scrutiny. Not in anger; more like she’d come across an oddity. “Hm. An acceptable answer I suppose. 

 

“But yes, you were right about us. We’re the only ones in the Commonwealth brave enough, or stupid enough, to fight the Institute. And we could use more brothers in arms, but right now, we don’t have the time to train up a new agent. There are, however, other valuable ways you can contribute. And in turn, we can help you. See Deacon for details. You’re free to go.”

 

MacCready noted as she walked back into the darkened tunnel beyond to disappear to who-knows-where that they hadn’t bothered to question him. As if they’d written him off as just a tagalong they could ignore. It irked him...even if he had no intention to be part of this group.

 

But it sounded like Liam might.

 

He tried to ignore the sick twisting of his stomach as his boss went to talk to Sunglasses. Why the hell did it bother him? Of course this deal they’d had going on was too good to last. He should’ve known something would split up their tentative partnership (that he may have hoped was turning into friendship, even if he wouldn’t admit it). Every job had to end at some point. This one had just lasted a bit longer than expected, and been a hell of a lot more pleasant...even if it had ended up with him getting knocked on the ground via super mutants more than once.

 

So he just stood there by the entrance, leaning against the brick wall and trying not to shoot  _ too _ strong of a glare at the few Railroad agents that remained present. He watched as Liam and that weird Deacon guy conversed for a bit, covered eyes verses covered face (he would’ve snorted at the thought if he wasn’t feeling so petulant). One decidedly more animated than the other. Both acts a certain showing of control of oneself. It went back and forth like that for awhile, turning more serious at times. Until eventually, Liam seemed to be checking his pipboy before he finally started walking towards the sniper.

 

Conversation over?

 

“Let’s go,” the blonde said as he walked past.

 

MacCready raised a curious brow after him, keeping his mouth shut for now, but definitely planning to get as much information as he could about that conversation. Shooting one last suspicious glance at the agents still watching him carefully from their posts, he slipped from the wall to follow after his boss.

 

\---

 

The way out was definitely a quicker journey than the initial trip in.

 

That meeting had left Liam with a lot to think about. It hadn’t been what he’d expected either.

 

Apparently the Railroad was in a bit of a dilemma. Something had happened--Deacon had politely refused to give details for security reasons that he found hard to argue--to reduce their numbers and send them a bit...scrambling it sounded like. So they were actually showing more interest in him a lot quicker than was normal, mainly because of his reputation. Hell, he’d gotten Deacon to admit that the Railroad agent had been watching him for awhile. Scouting him out. That he was on a short list of possible candidates. Who those others were he didn’t ask, not that he’d expected the guy to say. Then he’d suggested there might be a job they could take on--Liam noting that MacCready was not mentioned as part of it, and he hadn’t failed to notice the mutual snubbing going on--a way that Liam could join their ranks instead of just being an “on the fringe” information guy.

 

Seemed like everyone needed his help these days, present company not excluded. But that...wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when hearing about their ties to the Institute. He’d been hoping for more of a way to get information. And this probably was the way to do that with them...but if it meant joining a somewhat-shady organization that definitely had to be in the Institute’s sights, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do that. Not yet. Maybe...who knows when. If it came down to it maybe. They were an option to consider.

 

Right now there were other matters to attend to.

 

Yes he was delaying his Glowing Sea trip.

 

Again.

 

But it could wait.

 

...

 

Shut up.

 

\---

 

As soon as they turned the corner of the Church, MacCready turned towards Liam. “I don’t like them.” Not quite what he’d wanted to say, but close enough.

 

The blonde simply snorted. “Honestly? I’m not sure how I feel about them either.”

 

Oh really. MacCready raised a brow at his boss. “Couldn’t help noticing how quick you were to be chummy with them.”

 

“I was feeling them out.”

 

Whatever that meant. He waited for Liam to elaborate.

 

…

 

Or not.

 

Well, two could play the silent game.

 

It didn’t take long for the silence to break. The irritated vibes he was giving off must have been too strong to ignore.

 

Sigh. “Look. I needed to know they were the real deal. And--” Liam cut himself off, glancing around the intersection they had just entered. It was pretty quiet on this side of the church. But perhaps a little  _ too _ quiet. He dropped his voice. “I don’t really want to discuss things out in the open like this…”

 

MacCready fought the urge to scowl, thinking his boss was just delaying again. Maybe when he’d said he would explain why he had interest in finding the Railroad, he hadn’t been truthful--

 

“Here.” Liam approached an intact building on the corner that didn’t have its door boarded up. The big sign above it read “Madden’s”. “Let’s at least get out of sight. Feels like we’re being watched.”

 

...maybe he should just stop assuming things and let the guy finish talking.

 

MacCready still fought the urge to scowl.

 

Inside, it was just one big room with a boxing ring as the centerpiece, a light still shining down as if its users had just left it. A cursory sweep of the place showed no signs of traps or otherwise. Hell, it looked untouched as far as he could tell, as if no one had been there for months. It gave off an eerie vibe, but it was definitely better than standing out in the open. Liam was right; it  _ had _ felt like they were being watched.

 

Liam stepped up to the bell hanging near the ring, deeply exaggerating his voice as if he was some hyped announcer speaking over an intercom system. “Annnd in this corner, we have Jump ‘em Up Johnny, taking on the champ, Muscle Man Mahoney! Readyyyy,  _ fight! _ ”  _ Ding ding! _ He rang the bell twice.

 

MacCready kept his face as straight as he could, though the corner of his mouth might have given him away by twitching a bit, indicating how much he wanted to laugh.

 

The blonde glanced his way, turning away again with a defeated sigh. “Ok, so…” He crossed his arms, a sign of resignation. “What did you want to know?”

 

Um.

 

Caught off guard by just blatantly being asked, his brain took a second to catch up and decide on the one subject that had been glaring at him the brightest.

 

“Back there, in the Church. You told the Rai--...you told  _ them _ that you had a score to settle against their enemy.” He chose his words carefully in case there were any wandering ears they had missed. They were still pretty close to the church after all.

 

Liam turned towards him, slowly shaking his head back and forth a bit. “Of course. I should’ve known you’d start with the biggest one.” He took in a breath, heaving it out again in a big sigh as he uncrossed his arms. “Guess it’s fitting that it ties some other things together. It’s the same reason I took out Kellogg by the way.”

 

That was another thing that was hard to believe, but he kept quiet, anxious to learn the reason for this crazy scavenger hunt they’d gone on.

 

“You see...I’m not just out for revenge against the Institute. I need to _ get in _ .”

 

MacCready stared, nearly slack-jawed.

 

Had he heard right?

 

Liam wanted to get  _ into the Institute _ ?

 

_ Was he crazy?? _

 

“But first, I need to go to the Glowing Sea.”

 

…

 

Say what.

 

“That’s the roadblock in my case that I mentioned before. There’s this...scientist who ran from the Institute I need to find. He might be the only one who can tell me how I can get in. The problem is...getting to him.

 

“I mean, I have power armor. It’s...decent enough. But it definitely needs tuning up. Top of the line mods and extra plating against radiation to begin with. And then there’s whatever creatures I’ll face…” He was starting to ramble. It was as if, once he’d started, he just needed to get out the words at whoever would listen.

 

“...why do you need to get in?”

 

“...” Liam stopped short his ramble at the question, staying silent for a moment, as if debating on his words. “...you remember that article Piper wrote? ‘View from the Vault’? The interview I gave?”

 

“Yea…?” And he’d been meaning to find another copy of it since there were certain details he still couldn’t remember all too well. Now he really wished he’d done it sooner.

 

As if reading it on his face, Liam reached for his pack and produced a slightly rumpled copy of  _ Publick Occurrences _ , presenting it towards the sniper.

 

“View from the Vault” stared right back up at him. MacCready nearly flushed at being read so easily, but he accepted the offered paper, pushing down any awkwardness as he began to read through it again.

 

He remembered the beginning well enough. Pre-war. Deep freeze. Vault. Liam was a lot older than he looked...

 

_ “You see, Liam has a son. Shaun.” _

 

MacCready’s brows rose as he read on.

 

_ “...even though they were in the relative safety of a Vault, someone broke in, and took Shaun from his parent--” _ He felt his heart hitch.  _ “--and that parent is now risking everything - wandering through this strange and unfriendly world of ours - in order to save Shaun from his kidnappers…” _

 

Heat started to build behind his eyes, the words hitting close to home. Different circumstances, but far too familiar.

 

_ “You can only take it one day at a time. [...] Just keep going. That’s all anyone can do.” _

 

MacCready stared through the wrinkled sheet, letting the words sink in. Movement in front of him caught his attention. He looked up as Liam finished pulling off his mask, and found himself staring into the face of determination and heaviness that the written words had failed to fully convey.


	25. Pulling back the Shroud

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little short. I wanted to make it longer, but it ends on too good of a point, and if I tried to keep going instead of starting the next chapter, it would've been posted later than I wanted to again and who knows how long it would be.

“...so what about that thing with the Shroud?”

 

_ Shit. _ Liam tensed, nearly snapping the bobby pin in his grasp. “What about it?” He just managed to keep his voice level, almost wishing he hadn’t pulled off his gas mask. He wasn’t even sure why he had taken it off; there had just been this...compulsion to do so as MacCready had put two and two together from rereading that interview he’d given.

 

Focusing on the lock again, he went back to trying to pick the safe he’d decided he wanted to look through. Standing around had gotten a little too awkward, but that sort of thing tended to happen after bearing your heart on your sleeve.

 

Or revealing your face after telling the person traveling with you that you wanted to infiltrate the Institute to rescue the son they had kidnapped. That could make things awkward too.

 

But MacCready had apparently recovered from the strangely tense silence they’d had going on. Though Liam somewhat wished he hadn’t. “Sunglasses seemed impressed is all. I wondered if it was relevant or something.”

 

He held his breath, carefully shifting the screwdriver over-- _ click _ .

 

_ Yes. _

 

“...it’s not,” he finally answered as he swung the door open. Somehow sensing the frown he must be getting and then hearing the small intake of breath that indicated the sniper was about to prod the subject, he beat him to the punch to cut it off. “It’s not exactly something I want to talk about.”

 

The safe contained a handful of caps and ammo; pretty standard fare. Buffout, too, but to be fair, that was pretty standard for a boxing ring.

 

He heard MacCready “hmm” in a sort of...annoyed acceptance. Liam turned from the now-empty safe to see him idly chipping the paint off a nearby column, and frankly doing a poor job of hiding his scowl.

 

Liam sighed, itching to put his mask back on. He definitely planned to before they left, but it had become something of a safety net that he should stop using so much. He held off for now. “Look,” he finally spoke, causing the sniper to visibly jump at the broken silence. “Things...didn’t exactly go as planned for the Shroud.”

 

MacCready’s brows rose with interest. “So that  _ was _ you taking out the bad guys around Goodneighbor.”

 

He kept his face as blank as he could manage as he thought of how to respond. “The Shroud did manage to take out Sinjin, yes…”

 

The “but” he’d left hanging in the air was pretty obvious. He could see it reflected right there in MacCready’s eyes, a frown starting to mar his features again.

 

Liam pulled his gas mask back on before the metaphorical one could fully break as he started to head for the door.

 

“I wasn’t fast enough,” he muttered as he passed the sniper, not waiting to see his reaction.

 

\---

 

MacCready was sorry he asked.

 

He’d heard that that crazy pre-war ghoul Kent Connolly had found someone to answer his “callout” on his Silver Shroud station; even heard some of the “missions” he’d given his chosen Shroud in between stories. But then one day the missions had stopped, along with the stories. Apparently what had happened had been left broadcasting on repeat for awhile, but he’d unfortunately missed his chance at hearing it, having been in something of a self-wallow of pity at his lack of job-finding luck. It was only through the rumor mills and careful eavesdropping that MacCready had figured out that the Silver Shroud had managed to weed out the big raider boss known as Sinjin, but it had turned him into a target. Even Hancock had needed to get involved, or so people said, having seen the guy who had become Shroud stepping from the Old State House with purpose one day.

 

The same day the radio station had gone dead.

 

If that had been Liam, and Kent’s disappearance and radio station going down weren’t just coincidence, then…

 

_ “I wasn’t fast enough.” _

 

Shit.

 

(And Duncan forgive him for that swear.)

 

And of course, that had nothing on Liam’s main reason for making contact with the Railroad: sharing a mutual enemy with them.

 

The Institute.

 

Who Liam was certain had kidnapped his son.

 

MacCready couldn’t even imagine what he must be going through. Didn’t know how the guy kept going on the way he did.

 

A pair of deep blue eyes came to mind, almost the mirror of his own, marred by far too much pain for someone so young, yet still managing to shine with hopeful innocence.

 

The sniper was so caught in his own thoughts, only paying enough attention to check for danger, that he hadn’t registered where they were until they’d taken a handful of raiders on the highway by surprise.

 

Wait.

 

The highway…

 

_ Mass Pike. _

 

He set his gaze towards the setting sun, across the river where he knew his current goal was.

 

Except the highway here was broken, so that couldn’t be where they were headed next.

 

“Damn it…” he heard Liam mutter. He looked over to see his boss bringing up his pipboy, the glow illuminating his gas mask eerily in the dying sunlight. “It didn’t tell me the highway would be broken here. If I’d known that, I would’ve headed for the bridge up north.”

 

MacCready’s pulse raced. Dare he hope? “Where are we headed exactly?”

 

The gas mask turned his way, even as he still fiddled with the pipboy’s dials. “The Interchange. I thought you wanted to go there…?”

 

“I did-- _ do _ , yea,” he stuttered out, still not quite believing it.

 

Liam nodded--“Alright then.”--returning his sight to what had to be the map of the area. “We could probably follow the shore up north to the bridge… But I don’t really like going that far out of the way when it’s just right  _ there _ … So close, yet so far…” He was muttering to himself, thinking out loud. MacCready wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear the words or not, or if Liam even cared that he did. “Hmm…” He looked forward again, a calculating frown coloring his words. “I do wonder though…” The glow abruptly went dark as Liam hit the off switch on the screen.

 

Without warning, he stood from where they were both crouched near the edge, turning to backtrack along the highway. Left blinking in surprise, the sniper hurried to follow, picking his way after his boss who had found a good place to drop to the ground below.

 

There was very little light left by the time they reached the shoreline.

 

MacCready was on high alert as Liam stepped closer to the river’s edge. He may have wanted to execute his plan of...well,  _ executing _ the Gunners at night, but that didn’t mean he liked traveling in it. Too easy to get snuck up on.

 

“Y’know, we may be able to get across here and stay mostly dry.”

 

He scowled at the thought. “Yea, sure. First we get wet, and then we’re cold. Just what we need before sneaking around at night.”

 

Liam didn’t seem convinced. “Ah, come on, it’s not really that deep. Look,” he gestured towards the murky water that chugged along rather slowly here. “The river’s full of bits of broken highway. Plenty of shallow spots we can use. Might need to hop a bit between them, but…” He shrugged. “We’ll manage. And I know the other side looks like a cliff, but I can see an area we should be able to climb up.” He turned back towards the sniper. “Unless you’d like to hike for an hour or two to reach the bridge, and then hike  _ another _ hour or two to make up for going out of our way.”

 

…

 

Damn it.

 

One precarious river wade/hop and even more precarious rock climb--both filled with precarious near-slips of bitten back swears--later…

 

(And seriously, he wondered how Liam had managed that climb so well...until remembering the guy mentioned being an avid tree climber as a kid.)

 

They were finally in the shadow of the intact highway on the river’s other side. An unexpected queasiness began to build in MacCready’s gut as they continued onward. They were actually going to do this. Holy crap. This was just… It was insane is what it was. They were so going to die here if this went to hell, and chances were high it really was going to go to hell on them. What was he thinking? There was no way they could pull this off...

 

“Hey.”

 

He blinked, heart nearly in his throat as he snapped out of his thoughts.

 

“You still with me? I kind of need your insight so we can figure out a plan before we get there.”

 

How did Liam do that? Manage to sound so calm and in control, and then drawing him out of his head by reminding him he was needed. It was enough for him to try to get his heart under control at least, even if his nerves were going to take more than that to settle. Hell, he wouldn’t be fully calm until this whole thing was over. But he did need to keep a level head.

 

MacCready managed a shaky nod that wasn’t as shaky as it could have been.

 

He could hear the reassuring smile in the blonde’s voice and the confidence it carried. “Don’t worry; we got this. Like you said, I’m pretty sneaky, but I do better when I know what I’m up against.”

 

Hint hint? It bordered on being teased.

 

That got a snort from him at least. “I can tell you what I remember about the outpost from the last time I was here, but honestly...they could’ve changed things around since I’ve been gone. Three months isn’t that short of a time after all.”

 

“Hey, I’ll take whatever I can get. Old information is better than none. I can at least work with it.”

 

This was true. So MacCready told him what he knew as they crept through the dark, keeping alert for anything that could spot them, whether it be wildlife lurking in the woods, or Gunner patrolling up above.

 

\--

 

Two guards.

 

Liam watched them from his recon scope, staying crouched behind some fallen trees while his reason for being here at this moment tried to mimic his technique for staying hidden. (There was potential there, and Liam had offered him one of the stealth boys he had stashed away for emergencies, but it had been turned down. “If we get spotted, I want them to  _ know _ who’s come to take them out. Besides, those things make my skin crawl.” Fair enough.)

 

MacCready had said the typical standard for ground patrol was one on watch. Usually the unlucky newer recruits got put on it (the sniper himself remembered being forced into it, at night, and hating every minute of it). But Winlocke and Barnes hardly did things by the standards. They liked doubling up on security as much as possible, if not out of paranoia and extra caution, then as a show of force. That edge of “look how many people we have, we can take you, just try” that was, in a way, its own extra layer of defense.

 

There was no way of knowing exactly how many Gunners would be on the highway above; just that this was one of the bigger outposts, so to expect forces in the higher numbers. There would definitely be a turret or two, and at least one assaultron. He hadn’t missed the panic that word had caused. Those things scared the shit out of anyone. Hell, KL-E-0 still made him nervous, even if he didn’t think she’d actually attack any of her customers since that would drive away business.

 

...he hoped.

 

Liam lined up his rifle, using the scope’s capability of finding and marking living things (no matter the weather or the time of day) to his advantage.

 

He took the first headshot.


	26. Hell or Highway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mass Pike Interchange.  
> They knew it wouldn't be easy, but things definitely weren't going to plan...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: Highway of Hell  
> I've been spelling Winlock wrong this whole time. I kept thinking it ended with an "e". Oh well. I'm not even sure when I started doing that. \o/  
> I kept using that spelling for continuity's sake, but if anyone noticed and was bothered by it, that's why.

It went to hell pretty fast.

 

They’d already misjudged the situation by assuming there were only two guards because that was what they could see.

 

But there was a third.

 

And then the spotlight scanning the area had pointed them out, buzzing loudly as it highlighted them, forcing Liam to pull his pistol to shut the thing up without wasting his better ammo.

 

By the time they’d cleared the ground forces, it didn’t matter that they were no longer visible; everyone had to know they were here.

 

Voices were shouting out from above, calling out to be on guard, and to keep an eye out for the intruders.

 

Yep. Definitely prepared for visitors.

 

Liam rubbed at a scorch mark on his shoulder armor. “Guess we’re not taking them by surprise then.”

 

MacCready snorted as he reloaded his rifle. “Yea...I should’ve known they’d up their defenses even more after I left. Guess I should feel honored.” He smiled without mirth.

 

Liam smirked sardonically at that. “How ‘bout we show them just _how_ honored.”

 

The sniper turned towards him. And mirrored his smirk without realizing it.

 

They soon located the lift that would take them up to the Interchange above, ready for lines of red that were sure to fill their vision as they began their ascent into hell.

 

“Sure you don’t want that stealth boy?”

 

“I’ll pass,” was the response through clenched teeth.

 

One tension-filled eternity later, they reached the top…

 

...and stared right into the red-glowing face of the devil itself.

 

\---

 

It was worse than hell.

 

Worse than chaos.

 

It was downright pandemonium with a dose of “screw you you’re dead” thrown right in.

 

He’d been shoved out of the way just in time, the near-white red beam cutting it close to searing his entire arm off. He’d certainly felt the heat though.

 

The assaultron had gone still as it recharged from the blast. He managed to pop off a shot at its head, hopefully damaging the plating enough that it wouldn’t be able to try that again, or if it did, maybe its head would explode or something. There was no time to find out as he was pulled by the arm, practically being dragged along by who he barely registered as his boss, the blonde hair reflecting the reds and greens of energy weapons as they scrambled for whatever available cover they could find.

 

He was almost thrown into one of the metal shacks the Gunners has set up here, Liam throwing himself in right after as a molotov filled the doorway with flames. He heard the blonde _growl_ , pulling the pin on a frag and leaning around the door frame to return the favor, pulling himself back in as the whole highway shook.

 

More flashes of red and green peppered the wall. The Gunners knew exactly where they were. They were pinned, damn it.

 

He saw his boss-- _partner_ \--reach for another grenade, catching sight of how shaky the movements were…

 

_Shi--damn_ , most of his left shoulder plate was _gone_ . Burned off in that blast and left melted at the edge. The skin underneath looked _horrible_.

 

He was pretty sure Liam should be going into shock right now, or hell, maybe he was going into shock, too, and hadn’t realized it yet. The adrenaline was roaring too loudly in his ears for him to care right now.

 

\---

 

He watched the grenade arc over long-wrecked cars, green-clad figures diving for cover behind barricades painted with skulls.

 

_War never changes._

 

There was a loud explosion as the frag went off, a few cries of alarm accompanying it as he pulled himself behind cover again.

 

That throw had been sloppy. His arm wasn’t cooperating as much as he’d like.

 

_Friggin assaultron._

 

White-hot enough to feel cold as it seared his upper bicep…

 

Liam had almost thought it was going to take his whole arm off. Luckily, he’d gotten just enough of a counter motion from shoving MacCready out of the beam’s range that he’d avoided the worst of it. He was afraid to look at how bad the damage was, but he was sure it needed a few stimpaks.

 

He glanced back towards the sniper, seeing how he stared at his arm. Definitely bad then. But they had no time to deal with that right now. There were bigger problems--

 

“What’s wrong, MacCready?”

 

He flicked his gaze back to the doorway as a familiar voice called out, MacCready tensing up beside him.

 

“Too rude to say hi to your old friends?”

 

The sniper’s jaw clenched tighter as Winlocke continued.

 

“You didn’t think you could just come here without saying hello, did you? So why don’t you and that friend of yours come out so we can give a _proper_ greeting.”

 

The words were punctuated by a molotov slamming into the shed, MacCready physically flinching as it crashed against metal.

 

Liam narrowed his eyes, the flames reflecting in his gas mask goggles. His fingers clenched around the butt of his rifle as he briefly glanced at the sniper and back to the door again. This needed to end.

 

\---

 

Damn it.

 

How did Winlocke manage to get under his skin like that? MacCready knew he could take this guy out if he could just line up a shot. Hell, Winlocke knew MacCready could headshot him from a mile away. Yet he just...always managed to push his control.

 

He breathed, trying to calm his racing heart.

 

Yes, they were outnumbered by at least a dozen. Yes, they were cornered with only one way out, and it was being hit by an alternating barrage of energy weapons and molotovs (a favorite of Winlocke’s).

 

But _damn_ if he wasn’t going to send as many of these guys to hell with him as he could if he could help it.

 

“So what’s it gonna be?” Another molotov punctuated the inquiry.

 

“I am so sick of this guy’s voice,” Liam muttered, swapping out the assault rifle for an oddly modified laser one (How many weapons did this guy carry, and what was that engraving on the stock? MacCready thought he saw gears and wings before it moved out of sight...). “But I guess he likes the sound of it. So…” the blonde turned towards him, reaching for his pack again as he lifted his mask to reveal a serious expression, shadowed with...something. Calculating, maybe? “How about we shut him up?”

 

MacCready blinked, taken aback for a second. “How are we gonna do that? They have us cornered if you haven’t noticed!” His voice was nearing hysteric levels.

 

A lazy cat-ate-the-canary smirk slowly curled up the corner of Liam’s mouth, stretching the scars he just now noticed there. “I’m sure we’ll figure out something.”

 

He felt a rectangular case get pressed into his hand, Liam holding his gaze…

 

Before he quirked an eyebrow--which the sniper barely registered was also intersected with a scar--snapped his mask back into place and darted out the door in a flurry of red laser fire.

 

_What the hell--_

 

By the surprised shouts of alarm, the Gunners hadn’t expected that either.

 

MacCready lunged towards the doorway in shock as if to follow or stop him, but the dull clunk of an oddly weighted object gave him pause. He flicked his gaze down, reminded of and wondering what the hell Liam had given him before his apparent suicide run.

 

A stealth boy stared up at him from where it had slid to the floor.

 

_Why would…_

 

Did he expect the sniper to run?

 

Was he out there in plain view with a weapon that drew more line of sight attention to distract the Gunners enough for MacCready to slip away unnoticed?

 

_“We’ll figure out something.”_

 

...

 

No.

 

That wasn’t it.

 

Liam didn’t expect MacCready to run.

 

Liam was giving him an opening. He was _trusting_ him.

 

The sniper drew a sharp breath, hesitating for a moment.

 

He picked up the stealth boy.

 

\---

 

This was stupid.

 

This was incredibly stupid.

 

Everything about this was completely wrong. Every shred of instinct in his body was telling him this was not a good idea: he should be in cover; he shouldn’t be running around like a looney, practically spraying the highway with red laser beams. Why was he wasting ammo and having to jump or pause at the last second to avoid being showered in liquid flame, yet continuing to do so anyway no matter how much his logic protested?

 

Because _screw it_ , that’s why.

 

When a cat gets backed into a corner with no obvious way out, it fights back.

 

And this cat had _fangs_.

 

And a laser rifle; couldn’t forget that.

 

Modified by a Brotherhood of Steel Paladin and awarded to him out of gratitude for his aid. This thing hit _hard_.

 

But right now what mattered was it was drawing attention.

 

Hopefully enough attention that no one would notice the shimmer that was MacCready once he activated the stealth boy he’d been given and got out of that metal shed.

 

He fired off a few more shots, managing to hit one of the low ranks enough to bring them down, then had to dive into cover as a barrage of green retaliated, scrambling to reload as he did so. He’d probably run out of cells at this rate; not that he normally used this weapon.

 

Grenades would also be a bad idea as well, as he wouldn’t know where MacCready was on the field if he’d gone with the plan. He really hoped the sniper had gotten the idea he had in mind.

 

Liam darted out of the other side of his cover as he heard footsteps drawing nearer, someone apparently growing impatient with long range and wanting to bring the battle in closer.

 

Big mistake.

 

He shot them point blank, not bothering to stick around to see the glowing ash they’d become as other red beams started coming his way again. He bobbed and weaved, ignoring the heat that signalled how dangerously close a few of those beams had gotten, as he darted for another makeshift shack--

 

\--just as another Gunner popped from the door, causing him to flinch back instinctively.

 

Shit that was a missile launcher.

 

Practically a full cell’s worth of shots was unloaded into them with no regard for finesse and aim; just pure panic to get that fucking rocket out of his face so he’d actually still have a face at the end of this, thanks.

 

Another molotov slammed into the wall beside him. Liam whirled around to see where it had come from, nearly tripping over the corpse at his feet.

 

Winlocke grinned at him ferally, another flaming bomb already poised to throw.

 

_Blam--_

 

It exploded in his hand.

 

Liam blinked rapidly in shock--and held back amusement--as the Gunner cursed loudly, shaking off the flaming liquid his arm was drenched in.

 

“What the _fuck_ \--”

 

Winlocke never got to finish that thought.

 

_Blam!_

 

A streak of red exited his forehead just before he fell over with a thud, liquid flames continuing to lick up his arm.

 

Liam cast his eyes about, smirking into the empty space where he hadn’t actually expected to spot anyone. He ducked into the shed as the silence began to crumble again.

 

\---

 

_One down._

 

MacCready reloaded his rifle by muscle memory alone, trying to ignore the crawling feeling going across his skin and the fact that he couldn’t actually see his skin right now. If he just...pretended he was in pitch blackness even though there were some light sources, he wouldn’t freak out.

 

He watched Liam duck into the building ahead, getting ready to keep following from the shadows. It would’ve been nice to see the look on Winocke’s face as he figured out who was about to shoot his brains out...but that would’ve been risky. The Gunners knew who was here, so that would have to do. The main goal was to take them out so they’d be off the sniper’s back--he’d already felt some of the weight lifting as Winlocke’s corpse had hit the ground--and they were already halfway there. Aside from his other major goal of Barnes, all that was left was a handful of scattering Gunners--

 

_“Engaging hostile target.”_

 

_Shi--_

 

\--and the assaultron.

 

MacCready darted forward just as that red energy lit up the highway.

 

Followed by a sound similar to someone setting off a mini nuke.

 

_Shi-- Fu-- Damn--_

 

\---

 

It exploded.

 

Its fucking head _exploded_.

 

Apparently when an assaultron tried to fire a high-powered laser beam when its face panels were so dented up that one of them no longer really opened and moved out of the way like it should, it caused energy to build up within the firing chamber, causing some essential circuits to begin frying in their casing and just…

 

Kaboom.

 

This meant he no longer had to worry about destroying it.

 

But now Liam’s ears were ringing, and he was pretty sure he was going to have some interesting bruises to go along with the pounding in his head from where he’d been thrown back into the shed he’d been trying to leave (and then retreat back into). He’d thought it was pretty handy that it had a second door.

 

He’d thought wrongly.

 

He blinked up at the ceiling, trying to clear away stars--or was that just dust clinging to his gas mask?--testing his limbs to shift away the pieces of debris that had fallen on him from when the building had shaken. This was...not a good situation to be caught in; he had to move. But maybe if he was lucky, those other Gunners he had caught a glimpse of had been caught in the blast as well and were no better off. Or worse. Worse would be good. That was probably the only time he could say, er, think that.

 

He had to be concussed.

 

But he still had to move. The job wasn’t done yet.

 

He really hoped MacCready hadn’t been near that explosion.

 

_Just move, Liam._

 

Liam’s hand found Righteous Authority, gripping the laser rifle as he forced himself to sit up.

 

“You think this is over?!”

 

He squinted towards the doorway at the shouting, the voice ringing a few bells. As well as increasing the ringing in his ears. And head. Shit, his arm was pretty painful now too…

 

“This is _far_ from over!!”

 

Ah, right. That would be Barnes. Liam carefully crawled to his feet, stifling a groan at his protesting muscles.

 

Something mechanical shifted farther ahead, the pop and hiss of seals and servos--

 

_\--oh no._

 

Liam carefully tried not to stumble towards the door frame, peeking around the edge of it…

 

...to confirm that Barnes had indeed stepped into a suit of power armor.

 

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...just wanna add on that this fight is mostly made up. Parts are more inspired by what happened than anything else. Mostly because I got that glitch where Winlock and Barnes aren't hostile, and no one employed the use of power armor, either due to that glitch or the fact I wasn't a high enough level yet...  
> I had to Google Winlock and Barnes and "Long Road Ahead" to come up with half of this.  
> I have no idea what I'm doing. 8D;


	27. The Core of the Matter

MacCready stared.

 

The last time he’d been here, there had only been talk of getting that set of power armor they’d scavenged off an old army site into working order. It was pretty beat up; obviously been in real battle during the Great War. He was pretty sure the helmet had been deemed a lost cause at the time.

 

So to see it now, in working order, as Barnes powered it up?

 

They were screwed.

 

Unless…

 

The sniper eyed the edges of the highway, calculating the best way to get past the debris and bodies that had been thrown by the exploding assaultron. (He wondered how close Liam had been to that--and cut off that thought right away before the guilt could eat him. It would all be for nothing if this wasn’t finished after all.) Maybe he could sneak around and…

 

He ducked into cover to drop stealth and check the stealth boy’s power levels.

 

Not much left. He would need to hurry.

 

MacCready quickly reloaded before he braced himself, reactivating the stealth field and carefully placing his steps to make his way around.

 

\---

 

Liam stared.

 

The last time he’d fought someone in power armor was… Crap, he couldn’t recall.  _ Had _ he needed to fight a power armored opponent?

 

A fuzzy memory resurfaced from his old army days. Basic training, an introduction to power armor...the basics of how it worked, the strength it required despite the servos assisting in movement, how it was powered--

 

…

 

How it was powered.

 

They’d made sure to emphasize the biggest flaw of power armor. One of its only flaws really.

 

The fusion core.

 

If it ran out, you were stuck lugging a heavy inert metal frame around. But beside that, the core had no real armor protecting it. It was essentially exposed to the air. If someone got the drop on you and happened to shoot you just right from behind…

 

He drew a breath, slinking back into the shadows where he was hopefully not visible.

 

There was a turret on the platform behind Barnes. Still chugging away as it sought out a target.

 

And it was starting to smoke from a crack in the casing where a bit of assaultron shrapnel had possibly smacked into it…

 

There was usually a nice bit of kickback when those things were destroyed. It wouldn’t be enough to take out a fusion core, maybe not even to knock over someone in a set of power armor, even undertrained in using it… But there was a small chance it might.

 

It would be a distraction anyway. Hell, not like there were many options at this point.

 

He aimed for the turret, knowing that even with the wobble, it was at least a bigger object to hit than a relatively small fusion core that he couldn’t even see yet.

 

And let’s face it; Liam was hardly going to make that precise of a shot even in the best of shape. No way he’d make it now with how badly his arm was starting to shake.

 

_ Please don’t be near there. _

 

He pulled the trigger, unleashing a streak of red.

 

\---

 

The sudden laser firing from the shack caught him off guard.

 

The turret blowing up caught him even  _ more _ off guard.

 

As well as Barnes, the Gunner stumbling forward from the explosive force.

 

MacCready tried not to stare, mentally cursing himself for pausing since every second ate at his limited stealth time.

 

The power armor helmet whipped towards the smoking pile of metal. “What the fuck was--?!”

 

\--just as a blonde head of hair darted out of hiding, firing off a wild flurry of shots, most of them not hitting their mark--whatever their mark actually was--fizzling harmlessly against plates of metal.

 

“ _ You-- _ ” It definitely drew Barnes’s attention.

 

MacCready paused again, this time with purpose as the fusion core flashed his way. He fired without thinking, only realizing after the bullet cracked against the casing that this was probably a bad idea from this close of range.

 

Of course that was also the moment the stealth boy decided enough was enough.

 

The sniper’s heart jolted from the loud static buzz that signalled the field was down. Wide eyes focused on the now-visible end of his rifle in front of him, still aimed at the back of the power armor that was starting to turn his way.

 

_ Oh crap-- _

 

\---

 

“What--”

 

Liam snapped out of his shocked staring-- _ I should’ve given him two of those. _ \--quickly firing off more shots to gain Barnes’s attention again before he could spot MacCready. Even firing at the goggles of the power armor helmet just to piss him off. The swearing that caused probably shouldn’t be making him grin like it was (definitely a combination of delirium and adrenaline there). Especially when the guy started to charge.

 

_ Oh shit. _

 

Liam darted for the partly damaged shack again, hoping the doorway might slow him down.

 

It wasn’t necessary.

 

He heard another shot, and the heavy clomping was interrupted by even heavier metal crashing, enough to shake the highway.

 

He looked back.

 

MacCready had shot at the power armor just right to take out a knee joint.

 

Liam felt himself smirk at the sight, looking over to see the sniper slowly lowering his rifle with a determined expression.

 

_ Beep. _

 

_ Beep. _

 

_ Beep. _

 

Liam’s smirk dropped.

 

Shit.

 

MacCready’s eyes widened, rising up to perfectly meet his despite the gas mask.

 

Shitshitshitshitshit--thiswasbad.

 

Liam simply said one word.

 

_ “Run.” _

 

They ran.

 

\---

 

They’d gone opposite directions.

 

And then an explosion that basically  _ was _ a mini nuke rocking the whole Interchange, sending him flying through the air before everything went dark.

 

That was the last thing MacCready remembered.

 

So where the hell was he now?

 

He forced his eyes open, blinking blearily to clear his vision as the ceiling came into focus.

 

The underside of a highway.

 

A multi-layered highway.

 

_ The Interchange. _

 

He was still on the Interchange, laid out on a bedroll apparently, and...was that a fire?

 

MacCready turned his head.

 

Yea, that was a campfire alright. One of the cooking fires the Gunners had set up up here. And across it…

 

There was Liam. Propped against a cinder block barrier, right arm resting across a raised knee. His head was slightly bowed, but he also still had his mask on, so MacCready couldn’t tell if the guy was awake or not.

 

He blinked, waiting to see if his awakening had been noticed. After a few seconds of no response, he felt a frown forming, even as he started to raise himself up on an elbow to test how he felt.

 

So far so good.

 

The sniper sat up the rest of the way. Only a minor headrush from sitting up too fast, but other than that and a bit of lingering soreness (an image of being sent flying came to mind again), he felt fine. He just wouldn’t object to a bit more sleep is all.

 

MacCready glanced back towards the blonde.

 

Still no movement.

 

His brow furrowed in concern.

 

Carefully climbing to his feet--and taking a cursory sweep of their surroundings, noting the red dots a good distance down either side of the highway that indicated a perimeter of mines for protection--he slowly approached where his bos-- _ partner _ , he reminded himself; maybe even friend after what he’d helped him accomplish here tonight--still sat unmoving.

 

Damn. Liam looked like hell.

 

Well...maybe that was exaggerating, but…

 

Dust was clinging to his clothing, his armor was scuffed up and a few pieces were starting to crack, and though he’d apparently managed to loosen the straps of the shoulder plate that had melted at the edges, he hadn’t quite gotten around to completely removing it yet. In fact...parts of it might have even gotten stuck to the skin. MacCready suppressed a shudder. As if his arm hadn’t gotten fuc-- _ er _ , screwed up enough from that assaultron blast.

 

And Liam still hadn’t moved. Had to be asleep. But he shouldn’t have just left his arm the way it was; it would never heal right.

 

“Hey,” MacCready whispered, not wanting to startle him. No response. “Hey,” he tried again a bit louder as he crouched, extending a hand towards the not screwed up shoulder and debating on shaking it.

 

But wait. Liam’s breathing wasn’t quite right. It was kind of shallow, like he was struggling a bit.

 

_ Shit. _ And he was not going to censor that one. If MacCready himself had gotten thrown from the fusion core explosion, yet he felt fine, and Liam was like this...then...

 

Oh, that  _ idiot _ .

 

Had he even bothered to take care of himself? It looked like he’d started to if the loosened shoulder straps were anything to go by, but…then he’d stopped for some reason. What if he actually  _ was _ awake but just...not responding for some reason?

 

His hand hovered towards the gas mask still perched on Liam’s face, but hesitated. He’d seen his face before, so it wasn’t like it was forbidden to look at or anything. But it had always been by the blonde’s doing; his choice.

 

This was an emergency situation, though, so if it turned out he wasn’t supposed to take Liam’s mask off, so be it. He’d live. Hell, the blonde could have a concussion for all he knew, and if he wasn’t waking up due to one, then they’d have an even bigger problem to deal with, because at that point a stimpak would be too late.

 

And he was mentally babbling.

 

_ Get a grip, MacCready. Just wake the guy up, ditch the ruined armor, and get some stims into him. Simple enough. _

 

Yea. Real simple. So simple, he’d probably need to cut the shoulder armor off. That would be pleasant…

 

As gently as he could, MacCready pulled off Liam’s gas mask just as blue-gray eyes fluttered open with a quiet groan.

 

\---

 

Liam blinked, trying to focus his bleary vision as he slowly lifted his head to meet the concerned eyes of the sniper.

 

He blinked again, trying to figure out why he looked so concerned.

 

Saw him frown. “You’re awake, right?”

 

Yea. Of course he was. Couldn’t MacCready see that?

 

Wait. He probably wanted a verbal response of some kind.

 

Liam managed something of a grunt that he hoped sounded like a “yea”. Or...close enough anyway.

 

His thoughts were sloshing like his mind was underwater. He hadn’t taken med-x, had he-- _ agh _ . Nope. Definitely no med-x in his system. That hurt like  _ hell _ .

 

“Sorry,” MacCready winced as he apologized, hesitating slightly in pulling away the melted shoulder piece. “Need to get this out of the way though. Gotta clean the crap out of your arm before I can stim it.”

 

...yea...that made sense. But it didn’t make it hurt less. Was he trying to take off extra skin or something?

 

MacCready paused again, a moment of indecision passing over his face before he let go of the armor completely, reaching for his pack instead. “Look. I know you said before that you’re not a fan of med-x...but this thing…” he gestured to the thing in question that used to be a metal shoulder piece. “It’s kind of  _ stuck _ , so I’m…going to need to cut it off…” He was visibly wincing at his own words, conveying just how reluctant he was to follow them, but knowing there was no choice but to do so.

 

…

 

It took Liam’s mind a moment to process exactly what the sniper was saying. He’d have to cut the armor. It was stuck. So then…

 

Oh.

 

It was  _ stuck _ . To his  _ skin _ . That would be why it felt like he’d been trying to pull Liam’s skin off. He wasn’t actually trying to do that; it was just...

 

Well then.

 

He must have been silent for a lot longer than he realized because MacCready furrowed his brow, placing a hand on his forehead. Liam blinked.

 

The sniper’s furrow deepened as he removed his hand, going back to his pack. “You’re getting a fever…”

 

...was he? He hadn’t noticed. But that wasn’t good. The assaultron blast--that’s right; it had been an assaultron--had gotten him worse than he thought.

 

MacCready turned back towards him, a syringe in hand that he thought he recognized the color of. Again, there was that hesitation.

 

“Look. I...don’t really like having to do this, but there’s isn’t really much of a choice at this point.” It sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than he was the blonde. “This will probably ‘mess with you’ like you said, but it’s better than dealing with how painful this is going to be, and I kind of need to rush before this gets worse if it’s causing you to have a fever…” Definitely arguing with himself.

 

Liam certainly wasn’t fighting him on this. But it sounded like MacCready needed some confirmation that it was ok; he could go ahead with it.

 

The blonde’s eyes flicked to the purple-marked syringe. He really didn’t like med-x. But he wanted-- _ needed _ to get that armor off so his wound could be dealt with. He recalled setting up a perimeter of mines, but that didn’t suddenly make this a safe place. They couldn’t stay here that long. Someone could show up to do a check on the place or try to reclaim it.

 

He slowly met the sniper’s gaze. And nodded.

 

\---

 

The med-x hit him faster than he’d expected it to. It always did, leaving him with a brief moment of panic before that was swept away as the loopy numbness kicked in.

 

Before he knew it, MacCready was setting the mangled, melted armor piece aside (he vaguely wondered at how little of it was actually left, and the bits of red clinging to it) along with the pocket knife he’d pulled out at some point.

 

Now water was being poured over his upper arm. Or he was pretty sure it was.

 

Not that he was paying much attention to what MacCready was doing. He was currently fascinated by the color of MacCready’s eyes. How the deep blue seemed to sparkle in the firelight, get washed into a different shade; how the bit of moonlight that managed to invade the multi-level highway caused shadows of a different color…

 

Of course...it was also a bit hard to focus…

 

MacCready was kind of...doubling around the edges…

 

Blurring out a bit…

 

How was he doing that?

 

Was it an extra feature of the stealth boy he’d given him?

 

If so, why had no one told him? Or maybe it was malfunctioning. That could be dangerous…

 

A hand on his cheek drew his attention. Those blue eyes were looking into his. He blinked as MacCready’s lips moved, not really making out what he was saying. Saw him frown like before, and look away to reach for something.

 

The hand left his cheek. He was vaguely aware of it returning to his arm, followed by a tiny point accompanied by a familiar hiss.

 

A pressure he’d forgotten about started easing in his head. And...was it easier to breathe suddenly? Huh. He hadn’t realized he was having trouble drawing breath.

 

He blinked again, and was suddenly staring up at the highway above. There was something soft under him.

 

Blinked again. Thought he felt a hand on his forehead. Something was draped over him.

 

Awareness faded to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I didn't intend Liam to get that beat up... But they took over the writing from me again, damn it. \o/


	28. Like a Weight Being Lifted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do titles?  
> I'm just gonna accept the fact that unofficially posting these on Tuesday nights like I'd been doing isn't really as feasible as Wednesday nights. |D

His eyelids slowly lifted.

 

And snapped open the rest of the way.

 

_ Shit! I mean-- _

 

MacCready grabbed for his rifle, finding it laid across his lap.

 

He wasn’t supposed to fall asleep. That meant no one had been on watch, and they were still on the Interchange--Mass Pike Interchange;  _ Gunner _ territory, even if they had taken out everyone in the base. Anyone could have snuck up on them during that time.

 

He turned his head about in panic, craning his neck as he got to his feet.

 

The red dots of active mines on either side of the highway still greeted him, a little harder to see now as the rising sun lit the place up.

 

It was still quiet. As quiet as it had been after the giant mess last night had been. The giant mess that had been the deaths of all the Gunners who ran this base.

 

And the deaths of Winlocke and Barnes.

 

The realization struck him suddenly.

 

He no longer had to look over his shoulder for a flash of green stalking him. No one to tell him he couldn’t look for work (outside of those who didn’t like mercs, but hey, that was expected). It was just…

 

\--A rustling sound drew his attention downward. Liam shifting as he continued to sleep, a sigh escaping as he resettled.--

 

And it was all because of him.

 

This guy who had suddenly decided he was interested in hiring a merc to watch his back and follow him around while he did random tasks around the Commonwealth. Who had somehow gained his trust enough for MacCready to tell about the demons on his tail. And then gladly agreed that, yes, they were going to get rid of those demons.

 

And they had.

 

Damn.

 

Who even was this guy?

 

...well. Ok, so he knew he was. But really.  _ Who _ was he? Where had a guy like Liam even come from? MacCready’s life had been full of so much bad luck. It was just...crazy how the universe had done something in his favor for… Not for once; more like... _ this big _ .

 

One thing was certain: he needed to pay Liam back for all he had done. The amount of risk he had taken when he had all his own crap to handle. So much on his shoulders, yet taking on the sniper’s problems as if they were his own.

 

He just...needed to wake up first.

 

MacCready approached as quietly as he could, kneeling down to place a palm on Liam’s forehead.

 

Good. The fever he’d been running last night had broken. That extra stimpak had done its job then.

 

He hadn’t been sure if it was just the med-x that had made the blonde as out of it as he’d been during and after having that armor piece literally cut off of his shoulder. There had already been suspicion of concussion, but since MacCready had been able to wake him up, that meant it wasn’t too serious. Add a fever on top of that, though…

 

He drew back his hand, realizing he’d left it lingering while he was lost in thought. Not that Liam had stirred during that time. He reached for the makeshift blanket he’d draped over the blonde, and settled it back over him from where it had slipped off a bit. He’d leave it for now.

 

...even if MacCready did feel a little naked without his duster.

 

\---

 

He drew a big breath, opening his eyes on the exhale.

 

Was greeted by the sight of cracked concrete.

 

Liam blinked, nonplussed.

 

He carefully rolled onto his back, seeing the underside of a highway above.

 

Ah, that was right. They’d had to spend the night at the Interchange. They’d both been a bit too beat up to even think of traveling somewhere else to camp out. Besides that, it had been the middle of the night. Traveling in pitch blackness might provide cover, but it gave everything else cover, too, making it more likely you stumble across something unpleasant.

 

The blonde turned his head, looking over the campsite for signs of the sniper. While he didn’t immediately spot him, the bedroll he’d been using was still laid out on the other side of the now-dead fire, so he couldn’t have gone far. Liam also couldn’t help noticing the pile of assorted metal and leather that was his armor pieces. One or two of them looked a bit...managled. He could guess why, images of being thrown by an exploding assaultron and  _ then _ an exploding power armored-Gunner coming to mind...

 

He frowned, slowly sitting up.

 

Something pooled in his lap.

 

He looked down, discovering worn leather that had apparently been draped over him. Upon closer inspection, he found it was a leather duster. One that was quite tattered in places, and missing an entire sleeve--

 

Oh.

 

This was MacCready’s duster.

 

Ok then.

 

He blinked down at it.

 

And wondered at the warmth he was feeling that had little to do with the duster.

 

\---

 

Liam had really gone to town on the mines, hadn’t he? There were at least a dozen on this side alone. Granted, it was the side with the lift, and there was a bus that provided a blind spot right next to it...but still. Just how many mines did Liam normally carry? He tried to think back to that night in Hubris Comics…

 

That felt like so long ago, but it really wasn’t. How long had they been traveling together now?

 

MacCready tried to work out the days in his head as he started to walk back, having already checked the other side for signs of trouble (and finding a similar slew of protection set up).

 

_ Gotta be...about a week now, give or take a day. Huh… _

 

He’d hardly ever stuck with a client this long, and usually with the longer jobs, it got to the point of him being ready to be rid of whoever it was before the week was done. But this one...well…

 

Satisfied nothing had gotten past their defenses thus far, he made his way back to camp, and was pleasantly surprised to find Liam had finally awoken, and was currently looking over his broken armor pieces with a critical eye. MacCready had pretty much confirmed Liam had at least cracked a few ribs from being thrown due to how difficult the chest piece had been to remove. The piece of armor he was currently frowning at while he turned it this way and that.

 

He called out when he got within earshot. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”  _ Why the hell did I say that?? _ was the thought that immediately followed.

 

Thankfully, Liam only snorted at the remark. “Yea, yea. It’s not  _ that _ late. Mostly the med-x’s fault anyway.” He turned his head towards the sniper, lifting his left arm a bit as he did so. “Thanks for that, by the way. I don’t think I could’ve gotten that armor off on my own. Would’ve been pretty nasty to deal with later.” As it was, there was a patch of skin on his upper arm that was more pink than the rest. The scar should fade with time at least.

 

MacCready shook his head as Liam lowered his arm again, before he went to sit by the extinguished fire, hoping to restart it. He’d found some mostly edible-looking food on his short patrol, and was hoping it would make a good breakfast before they left. “Nah, don’t thank me for that. You did more than enough to help me out here. I should be the one thanking you.” He continued speaking when the blonde started to open his mouth, apparently about to protest or say something modest. “Hell, I owe you a big favor for what you did for me.”

 

Liam just frowned. “You don’t owe me anything. You clearly needed the help.”

 

The sniper gave a sardonic smirk. “That’s...true, yea. But I like keeping things even. There’s no way I can repay you for helping me get rid of Winlocke and Barnes...but at least let me give back the caps you paid me in Goodneighbor.” Which he could only do because Liam had been so fu-- _ freaking _ generous about splitting the loot and all the caps they got while traveling. He’d have barely enough to go on for awhile after this, but it was the least he could do for now.

 

“You really don’t need to do--”

 

“I insist.” He held out the bundle of caps, already counted out and ready to go. He’d been thinking about this all morning.

 

Liam glanced back and forth between him and the caps, looking like he still wanted to protest...but finally gave in with a frown, stashing them away in his pack begrudgingly.

 

MacCready almost wished he hadn’t given them back now...but his decision to return them was stronger. This was something he felt he’d had to do. And also… “I’ll keep traveling with you and watching your back, though, since that was the deal.” He was shocked by his own words. And...growing more and more unsure for every second Liam stayed quiet. “...that is...if you’re ok with that...”

 

Liam gave him a strange look; smirking wryly yet seeming like he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. He huffed goodnaturedly. “You are one weird guy, you know that.” His expression softened a little, but still held traces of the smirk. “But if you want to stick around, I won’t say no to the company.”

 

MacCready was realizing something: Liam was really expressive. It was...somewhat surreal to be able to see it. Was that why he’d always worn the gas mask? And did he not realize he wasn’t wearing it now?

 

It was at that moment the sniper started to feel self conscious. Which was silly. It wasn’t like it was  _ his own _ face that had been hidden away most of the time until now. He tried not to fidget.

 

“Oh, right!” MacCready nearly jumped at Liam’s sudden outburst as the blonde reached for something beside him. He held it out. “You should have this back. And...thanks. Again.” Were his ears turning red?

 

MacCready blinked. Then really looked at what the blonde was holding out.

 

Oh. His duster.

 

That’s right. He’d lent it to Liam so he wouldn’t get too cold in his sleep last night…

 

Now the sniper tried not to blush, awkwardly reaching for the worn jacket. “Uh...yea. No problem. You seemed to...need it more than I did.”

 

An uncomfortable silence started to build. And stretch.

 

And...stretch….

 

Liam finally broke it.

 

“Y’know what,” he jumped to his feet, almost startling the sniper again. “I’m going to go see if there’s any spare armor I can grab from around here. I might be able to repair some of my stuff, but in case I can’t, I’m gonna need to replace it. I can toss some your way, too, if you want?” he offered, turning back towards the sniper from where he’d started to walk off.

 

He managed to find his voice after a moment. “Nah, I’m good. Thanks.”

 

Liam merely shrugged. “Suit yourself.” And off he went.

 

\---

 

There’d been a decent amount of stuff lying around the Gunner base. Enough to outfit a small army, and cover any new recruits they might pick up. Most of it was combat armor of course. Better for holding up against high heat (he could’ve used that last night) since it was fiberglass. But he spent some time buffing away the green paint, bringing it back down to the base dull white. It clashed less with the beige Minutemen shirt for one thing, and another, MacCready seemed to appreciate the fact Liam wouldn’t be wearing his old employers’ colors.

 

So now he had two new shoulder pieces in fiberglass, went with leather for the legs since it was more flexible--better for sneaking around--and managed to repair his old chest piece enough to stick with it. The sniper had raised a brow at that one, but Liam had meekly shrugged, unable to explain that he’d gotten a bit sentimental about the Brotherhood marked armor. It just felt wrong to get rid of, even if most of that group didn’t know who he was (yet?).

 

He’d also managed to score a comic book one of the Gunners had apparently been keeping stashed away. And didn’t miss the quick flash of jealousy that crossed MacCready’s face at that one. Maybe he’d offer it to him to read later...but for now, he wanted first dibs. It  _ was _ an issue of  _ Grognak _ after all.

 

“Ok, so…” Liam glanced upwards over his shoulder at the overpass from where they stood on the ground. “That’s it for this place. You think they might...try to hunt us down or something?”

 

MacCready just snorted. “Nah, not likely. They took a major hit losing this base. It’ll be expensive enough trying to reestablish it. They’ll be too busy with that to even bother tracking whoever did it down. Besides, they have no way of knowing either of us were here.”

 

“Good point.” Liam dropped his gaze back to the expanse of land around them, pulling up his pipboy a second later. “Not really sure where to head next… Let me see… I  _ could _ go meet up with Deacon… He had a task that needed doing that he seemed to think would get me in the Railroad’s good graces...but I’m not sure about that right now. It’s a bit of a distance...

 

“Looks like Natick isn’t too far from here. Might be a police station there we can check out for another of Winter’s holotapes. It’s, ah...pretty close to the Glowing Sea, by the looks of it…” He winced, shooting the sniper a glance and seeing the unsure look that was starting to build. “I’m not too keen on getting irradiated, so if I get any signs that we might start glowing ourselves--” Liam tapped on the side of his pipboy, indicating the built-in geiger counter. “--then we backtrack out of there and I’ll just head in myself with a set of power armor or something. I’ll probably need to pass through there later anyway when I...yea,” he finished lamely, not really wanting to spell out the obvious.

 

He waited for the sniper’s response.

 

\---

 

Close to the Glowing Sea.

 

Yea, that wouldn’t be good. He’d had to take a big detour himself when coming up to the Commonwealth just to avoid that cesspool of radiation.

 

And Liam had to go down there anyway. That...frankly, sucked. He did not want to be in the guy’s place. (Though in some ways, he almost was. But he wouldn’t dwell on those thoughts right now.)

 

MacCready still wasn’t one hundred percent on why they were looking for these tapes, but he had been promised by Liam that the beans would be spilled if it became dangerous. And this sounded like it would. Or might anyway. Natick could be far north enough to avoid hitting the edge of the Sea. But they wouldn’t know unless they went there.

 

He shouldn’t be this curious.

 

…

 

Damn it.

 

He settled for shrugging. “Well, we won’t know if we keep hanging around here, will we.”

 

A look of relief passed over Liam’s face, a smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. The blonde nodded, turning back to his pipboy to (he assumed) mark their destination. “Alright then. Natick it is. If we cross country it towards Fort Hagen, we should come across a road pretty soon.” The pipboy went down, Liam’s hand going to his belt. “Let’s head out.”

 

And the gas mask went back on.

 

MacCready tried not to let the disappointment show on his face.

 

If he failed, Liam made no mention of it.


	29. The Road to Natick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's "hot off the presses" so to speak, so mind any glaring errors I might've missed in wanting to get this out tonight.  
> Once again, they've taken control of the plot from me. This chapter didn't end the way I had planned, but they insisted. \o/

They stuck to the highway as the sun rose higher in the sky, the mostly intact sections serving as good cover from the scorching rays.

 

Liam could hardly believe it was December now. The fallout must’ve fucked up the seasons (or ozone) big time for it to still feel this warm when it was practically winter.

 

And this was _Boston_ for crying out loud! He wasn’t even technically a native to the area, having grown up a bit farther south where it got less cold...but this wasn’t even cold by south standards. Definitely not by Virginia standards either. He wondered vaguely if it would even feel like winter at all this year…

 

_200 years since the last real winter. Froze my ass off, dealt with more snow than I’ve ever seen in my life...and yet I’ll really miss it._

 

His thoughts strayed like this for most of the trip.

 

Until they had to deal with a bear-- _yao guai_ , he reminded himself--that growled at them for getting too close.

 

It had caught MacCready off guard, too, so it wasn’t like they _wouldn’t_ have run into it had Liam been paying more attention. Really.

 

Luckily, the rest of the way was a bit less eventful, and eventually the promised road was under their feet, with some sort of factory that followed it as it veered off to the left, further south--

 

“What?! Who’s there?!”

 

_What--_

 

Liam snapped his head to the right, and barely made out the word “Schoelt” on a big tanker truck before a molotov exploded from that direction at his feet.

 

_Shit--_

 

A quick sense of deja vu turned into a quick scramble for cover with an even quicker firing of shots--

 

The super mutants that had been waiting in ambush fell just as quickly.

 

Liam looked around at the pile of bodies as he waited for his heart to stop threatening to pound out of his chest. “I...guess we weren’t keeping up with our super mutant quota?”

 

MacCready just looked at him as if he’d grown a second head.

 

He shrugged sheepishly. “It sounded funnier in my head.”

 

MacCready just kept staring.

 

“...right then,” Liam broke the awkward silence before it could keep growing. “Let’s just...keep going…” he trailed off, taking note of the lumbering forms down the road that had turned their glowing eyes in their direction, drawn by the sounds of gunfire and explosions.

 

“Or we could just keep killing things; sure...” he continued, bringing up his rifle again to shoot at the legs of charging snarls and sickening screeches.

 

This was not their day.

 

\---

 

MacCready froze as the ghouls drew near.

 

_Shit._ There were too many. Too many reaching hands. Too many gnashing teeth. Too many…

 

One managed to close the gap and strike at Liam, its claws scraping across the new fiberglass armor that was protecting his left arm. It caused him to stumble, though the armor held up.

 

Something in MacCready snapped. He brought up his rifle, and took aim.

 

Down that ghoul went.

 

The first of many he took out.

 

By the end of it, he lost count of how many the two of them had put down. But not one had managed to reach him with its grimy grasp, and no others had managed to close in on Liam after that first blow.

 

But he shouldn’t have frozen up like that. It was careless. Sloppy. Any client of his could get hurt that way. Hell, those ghouls could’ve killed--

 

MacCready pushed the image from his mind.

 

“Jeez…” He almost jumped when Liam spoke, turning his head towards the blonde as he commented. “First super mutants, then ghouls… If that was the welcoming committee, I’m almost afraid to see what the town has in store for us.” His voice took on an exaggerated tone of conspiracy. “Maybe the holotape we seek spells doom and destruction for all of their kind if it should fall into the wrong hands…” He punctuated the words with one of those creepy “finger wiggles” that should almost always be accompanied by an eerie “ooooooh”.

 

MacCready would’ve snorted if he wasn’t so shaken up. “...right…”

 

He swore he could feel the smirk drop from Liam’s covered face. He also dropped his hand, sobering as he looked ahead of them again (MacCready felt a little guilty for killing his mood). “Ok then...so…” Up came the pipboy. “Apparently this place is Poseidon Reservoir. Makes sense. It is on the edge of the water after all.” The pipboy came back down. “Think it’s worth checking out?”

 

Fingers of dread began to crawl up his spine. If there had been that many ghouls lingering outside...then how many would there be in the building? Packed into a closed space… No way to get out… Closing in…

 

Closing…

 

The gas mask tilted along with Liam’s head. “Of course...we could also skip it. Contrary to popular belief, I am capable of not going into every building I come across.”

 

MacCready managed a snort, filled with more confidence than he actually felt. “I’m not...holding you back if you really want to go in there…”

 

The gas mask shook back and forth. “Nahh, it’s not important. Let’s just concentrate on getting to the police station for now. This building will still be here later, but the same can’t be said about that holotape.” Liam turned to keep heading down the road, but paused after a few steps. He pulled up his mask, glancing over at the sniper again. “Don’t hesitate to let me know if anything is bothering you, though, alright?”

 

The honest conviction in his face almost threw MacCready off as much as the fact that Liam had pulled off his mask again. It still felt weird to see it.

 

He almost forgot he had been asked a question until Liam started to raise a brow in concern.

 

MacCready finally grunted something of a response, nodding.

 

The brow pointed at him stay raised a moment longer...but then dropped, Liam nodding back before he lowered the mask again, turning his face away as he started down the road.

 

MacCready released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

 

_What was that about?_

 

Had he been so obvious? Liam was so perceptive when it came to gauging people, it probably didn’t even matter. Maybe he should just...tell him about…

 

…

 

Only if it came up. It...didn’t matter yet.

 

Besides, the past was the past. It couldn’t be changed, no matter how much you might wish for things to have gone differently.

 

Still...he felt like Liam deserved to know why feral ghouls freaked him out.

 

\---

 

Curiosity was still eating at him as they continued down the road, leaving the reservoir’s main building behind. But Liam beat it back.

 

He hadn’t missed the way MacCready had hesitated when the ghouls rushed them. Or the fear hidden behind his eyes when Liam suggested wanting to explore that building that more were probably lurking in.

 

And it hadn’t been the first time the sniper had reacted like that to ghouls. There had been other times. The ones they’d had to take out at the Church in order to pass through it, and even the way he’d eyed the dead ones they’d come across back at Hubris…

 

Not liking them, even fearing them, was one thing. But the way he reacted to the things...it was closer to sheer terror.

 

Liam wondered if he should ask. But again, MacCready seemed somewhat private about himself, only telling the blonde things if he trusted him enough. They might be pretty much friends now, but they didn’t really know each other well yet. So for now, Liam left the matter alone. Just like he was leaving Poseidon Reservoir alone. He could always come back later if he survived the Glowing Sea.

 

...and wasn’t that a pleasant thought.

 

“Hey, hold up a minute.”

 

_Huh?_ Liam glanced over his shoulder, following MacCready’s gaze off to the side. Looked like an old roadside motel.

 

“Thought I saw someone in there…”

 

He frowned, looking more closely at the building even as he edged closer to the nearby bushes lining the road.

 

“What the fuck was that?”

 

Liam’s eyes flicked upwards as a female voice called out from somewhere above--

 

_Shit. Missile launcher._

 

He grabbed MacCready’s shoulder, forcing him behind cover. It wouldn’t protect them if Miss Missile Launcher on the roof there should decide she wanted to test out her toy, but maybe if they were lucky, she’d lose sight of the two of them since they were a good distance away.

 

“Huh?”

 

“What?”

 

Oh, great. Two separate voices from inside the building, too. If either of them came outside, there was no way in hell they’d miss Liam and MacCready huddling behind what was essentially scrub brush. Not in this daylight. Hopefully they didn’t have missile launchers, too, but…

 

“Get ready to fight or run,” he muttered to the sniper as he pulled out his own crude sniper rifle, hoping to put a disabling enough shot into the one on the roof.

 

\---

 

MacCready barely kept from toppling when he was shoved onto his ass behind the bushes. While he understood the need, that didn’t mean he was happy about it, mentally grumbling about the manhandling as he moved himself into a crouch to follow Liam’s sight.

 

_Holy frick--_

 

He barely had time to notice the weapon hauled on the raider’s shoulder before a shot fired from next to him, followed by her stumbling a bit. Not enough to drop that massive thing--she had to be stronger than she looked to manage that--but long enough that Liam managed to line up another shot, causing her to finally drop it as she collapsed.

 

_Nice!_ He might be a little jealous since sniping was _his_ thing. And normally Liam was a crap shot. That weird scope of his must have something to do with it...

 

A shout coming from the building caught his attention. No time to celebrate. They had a fight to deal with--

 

What the hell did that guy have on his head??

 

Oh well, it didn’t matter. He was shooting at them, so he had to die. Except he kept ducking back into the building while his friend ran forward at them stupidly, so MacCready focused his aim on the runner’s legs, toppling him to the ground as Liam kept firing shots to cover where “weird helmet” was last seen.

 

Liam paused to reload, but waited, watching the building. Except MacCready felt like he was being watched just as much. Huh. Maybe he was leaving it up to the sniper to finish the last raider off.

 

Invitation accepted.

 

Finally, the guy’s head popped up.

 

MacCready took his shot.

 

And hit him clean between the eyes. The raider never even knew what was coming.

 

The sniper lowered his rifle, feeling a smirk coming on. A low whistle of appreciation drew his attention, turning to see Liam had lifted up his mask, revealing eyebrows raised high over widened eyes.

 

“ _Damn_...I should be applauding that shot.”

 

He sounded so impressed, MacCready felt himself begin to flush. “Heh. Yea. I’ve...had a lot of practice.” Twelve years to be exact.

 

“I can tell. Hell, that’s not the first time I’ve been impressed. I keep wondering if I should be asking you for tips.”

 

It was hard to tell if the guy was serious or not. Still, MacCready had to fight not to blush more than he already was.

 

Liam seemed to take pity on him, pushing his mask back down as he got to his feet. “Anyway, we might as well see what kind of loot they had on them.”

 

\---

 

“ _Ahh_ , gaudy hotel carpet. There’s just some things not even the apocalypse will get rid of.”

 

He had to agree with Liam’s observation there. The carpet in here was...interesting to say the least. Even more so with the blood stains now spattering it.

 

MacCready went to rifling through weirdly dressed raider’s pockets, wondering what the hell kind of getup he had on. It hadn’t been a helmet at all. The weird bars he’d seen were actually attached to the guy’s shoulders. He wasn’t really sure what their purpose was unless the guy had been afraid of falling on his head or something. They didn’t provide much protection otherwise. Maybe it had been a status thing…

 

“Well...that’s different.”

 

_What?_

 

MacCready finally realized Liam was no longer in the room. In fact, his voice had come from somewhere around the corner. He hurriedly stuffed the caps he’d found into his pocket, rushing into the other part of the building to join Liam.

 

_What the hell…?_

 

That was…

 

The blonde turned towards him at his approach, tossing a thumb at his find. “Looks like they developed their own kind of power armor.”

 

Indeed it was. It was kind of put together in places, obviously made from scavenged parts and even some metal rebar they must’ve pried from some old concrete or snached from a construction site; and the helmet reminded MacCready of some pictures of deep sea divers he’d seen in books as a kid…

 

But honestly, it was pretty cool.

 

He barely managed to keep his excitement in check. “Huh. That’s...interesting.”

 

The gas mask tilted at him before it turned back towards the armor, eyeing it up and down. “I...guess. I mean, the workmanship is pretty shoddy and I doubt it’ll hold up in a real fight...but it is pretty impressive that they managed this when they obviously had no idea what they were really doing.”

 

“You think we should take it with us?” Why did he ask that?

 

He swore he felt Liam blink as he looked at the odd power armor again. “I don’t know… It doesn’t really seem worth it…”

 

“Maybe it’ll come in handy though? You do have to go to the Glowing Sea.”

 

“Ehh…” He didn’t sound convinced. “I wouldn’t really trust this to stand up to rain, let alone high levels of radiation.”

 

...ok fine. He had a good point.

 

“...but I guess it could be an interesting project trying to get it actually worth using. If anything, it’d make a pretty good supply of scrap.”

 

Wait, did that mean--

 

“So tell you what.” Liam turned towards him. “If it’s still here when we finish up in Natick, we’ll take it with us and drop it off at Sanctuary.”

 

MacCready felt oddly pleased about that...until Liam crossed his arms and he swore he felt the guy smirking almost evilly at him from behind that mask, and oh god, what was he--

 

“But you’re going to be doing most of the work on it since you’re the one who wanted it so bad.”

 

...oh.

 

Ok.

 

Well…

 

“Uhh...alright…?”

 

And just like that, the feeling of evil smirk dropped as the blonde nodded, dropping his arms back to his sides. “Alright then.” Liam brought up his pipboy. “We should probably get a move on. Sun’s gonna start going down soon, and I don’t like the idea of searching this place when it gets dark. Especially with how close to the Sea it is.”

 

With that, Liam turned, starting to head down the road into the town he could see just ahead.

 

…

 

What the hell had just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm wondering the same thing, Mac.  
> I honestly don't know why I had him interested in that armor. I just remember that I picked up a set somewhere and I can't remember where or when, so that seemed like a good place to get it from. There was actually a glitched set half-embedded into the wall in my game. ='D


	30. Unstable Banks

Natick Banks.

 

Liam wasn’t too familiar with the place, having never had a need to travel here before. But it looked like the “banks” portion of the name was threatening to take over. Everything on the side of the road was sliding into the reservoir, erosion having long weakened the building foundations. He just hoped the police station wasn’t among them.

 

But speaking of problems...

 

He brought up his pipboy, eyeing the geiger counter cautiously.

 

Good. No clicks yet. He’d have to keep an eye on it though, given how far south they were getting.

 

_ Rrrrr. _

 

His head snapped up.

 

_ What was that? _

 

He caught MacCready’s eye, noting the confused frown he was wearing. “Did you hear that?”

 

The sniper checked the surrounding area warily. “I didn’t hear anything, but something definitely doesn’t feel right.”

 

Liam glanced around. “Yea…” He eyed one of the more intact buildings nearby, nodding towards it. “Let’s check in here, maybe get our bearings and see if we can spot whatever...well...figure out if anything is out there.”

 

Going by the old sign outside, this had been a diner. Some of the back wall was gone, but that was no surprise, as it had slid down the bank. The stairs to the next level were pretty sturdy at least. Someone’s old apartment greeted them, the cracked front windows providing a view of the street below. Nothing visible from here, so they moved on to the back area.

 

Most of the wall here was missing, and part of the floor, too. Liam signalled for MacCready to stay back. “I’ll go check from here in case the floor isn’t stable. Be ready to act if something happens.”

 

The sniper didn’t look too confident with this plan, but nodded nonetheless.

 

This had been a bedroom if the collapsed frame in the corner was anything to go by. Hm. There must’ve once been a closet in the wall by the bed that had fallen away. A couple of boxes and a steamer trunk were all that was left, almost precariously dangling over the edge. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and since he was already up here with the damaged closet providing a good view down the street, he might as well at least crack open the trunk…

 

Holy shit.

 

Liam suddenly felt like Christmas had come early, staring down at the shiny rifle set carefully into the trunk. It looked modded. Definitely better than his makeshift pipe sniper rifle. And it had a recon scope on it, too! Jackpot--

 

The trunk lid landed with a  _ thunk _ as it slipped from his grasp.

 

Across the street, in a fenced off churchyard just a block down the road, looming upwards with its horned head stuck into the air, forked tongue flicking out to taste for prey…

 

_ Deathclaw. _

 

Happy moment gone.

 

Happy moment  _ very _ gone.

 

Liam froze--“I think we’re staying up here,” he barely managed to mutter so as to inform MacCready, not daring to speak any louder lest the walking death should hear.--watching as it lowered itself back to its normal stance and turned to begin walking further into the fenced area. He flicked his gaze back to the trunk, quickly snatching the rifle from it and doing a quick check over to confirm that it was indeed modded. .50 caliber. And as luck would have it, he did have a few boxes of those rounds on him. It was almost a sign really.

 

He snorted, even as he was bringing the rifle up to brace against his shoulder.

 

_ Maybe I should go back for that missile launcher at the hotel… _

 

No time for that. It was turning around to come back; would probably spot them if they tried to leave the building. And he couldn’t help noticing the wide open gate giving it easy access to the street.

 

He took aim.

 

Held his breath to steady the sights.

 

And fired.

 

\---

 

He was pretty sure Liam had said something...but it had been a little quiet, so he could’ve just been thinking out loud or something…

 

But he definitely heard the shot.

 

MacCready rushed forward, or rushed as much as he could while being careful of where he put his feet on rickety wooden flooring that had seen better centuries, just managing to step up behind Liam and look out to where he’d apparently been firing--

 

_ Holy frick that was a deathclaw. _

 

A very angry deathclaw that lashed at the air as it regained its footing, apparently pissed off at the blood that was now pouring from its head. Yet it was still standing.

 

And now charging--

 

And  _ eff it was getting close _ \--

 

_ Crack! _

 

A patch of ground exploded by its foot, almost causing it to stumble.

 

MacCready barely noted the rifle in Liam’s grasp, instead focusing on the creature’s legs where the blonde had apparently been aiming. The sniper’s scope instinctively went to his eye as he raised his own rifle.

 

_ Bang! _

 

A ton of anger hit the ground in a heap, clawing furrows into asphalt in its rage.

 

A perfect shot to the calf. No way it was standing up again.

 

The ‘claw snapped its gaze up at them and unleashed a deafening ROARRR--

 

And swallowed the chunk of lead flung at it at high velocity, silencing it for good.

 

A new heap of claw, horn, and scales littered the street.

 

He lowered the rifle from his eye.

 

And stared. Waiting for his heart to stop pounding in his ears.

 

“Holy shit…” Liam apparently regained his voice first.

 

No kidding. MacCready could only keep staring at the beast, mildly wondering if it might spring back up. Even if that was unlikely since it should be very dead now. A gunshot to the throat by a highly skilled sniper tended to do that. “So, that’s…” He swallowed the squeak in his voice, trying again. “That was...what you heard then, was it?”

 

“Yea…” was the shaky response. “Looks like…”

 

“Do you...think there are others?”

 

“...good god, I hope not.”

 

He saw Liam bring his scope up to his eye and start scanning the horizon with it. He wondered how well that would work since the sun was starting to go down now, limiting visibility.

 

Also, where the hell did he get that rifle?

 

“Looks clear. For now, anyway,” the blonde confirmed, lowering the rifle from his gaze. “I spotted the police station just down the street, too. Would’ve had to pass that ‘claw to get to it, so good thing we went in here, right?” He laughed nervously.

 

MacCready huffed out his own nerves. “That tape better be freaking worth it…”

 

Liam released a huff of his own as he got to his feet, minding the weak floorboards. “Yea, no kidding. Nick owes me big for this. Owes  _ us _ big.”

 

...oh. Hold on then...

 

“So you are looking into this case for Valentine…” He’d suspected, but he hadn’t been completely sure. Hell, he’d only held back from asking because Liam had said he would give him the details if things got hairy. And things had definitely gotten hairy. Or scaly in this case.

 

“Yea,” Liam nodded. “He has somewhat...personal involvement in it. And I wanted to do him a favor after how much he helped me out before. Just didn’t think it’d be  _ this _ big. Better believe he’s going to hear about the deathclaw.  _ And _ the super mutants.  _ And _ the ghouls.”

 

Heh. He’d love to be a fly on the wall during that conversation. Or maybe he’d get to hear it personally due to his involvement. Liam had said “us” after all.

 

\--...oh, that was just great.

 

He felt a frown coming on at a familiar sound. “And the Brotherhood?”

 

“Them, too.” Liam paused just outside the door before they could fully leave the dilapidated diner. “Wait, what?”

 

“One of their vertibirds is headed this way.”

 

Liam stared at him...then followed his gaze into the sky as the familiar whirring of blades drew closer. “...you’ve gotta be kidding me.”

 

MacCready wished. The last people he wanted to see were Brotherhood goons clomping around in their power armor. He might be jealous of it, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t obnoxious. Especially if they started shoving their weight around just because they knew they could. “‘Fraid not,” he answered even though he really didn’t need to.

 

Liam stared as the airship started to circle, looking for a good landing place. Then threw up his hands in exasperation. “Sure! Everybody come to Natick! Apparently it’s the latest hotspot in the Commonwealth. Now all we need are the mole rats and some mirelurks; then it’ll be a  _ real _ party...” He sighed, defeated, lowering his arms as he started walking again. “Let’s just get to the police station and find that tape and hopefully they won’t see us. I don’t wanna have to explain what I’m doing here.”

 

He probably wouldn’t like the suggestion MacCready was about to make, but it’d been on his mind for awhile, and… “You really should just...switch out that chest piece of yours. Or cover up the symbol or something.” It would make sense. He did seem to want to hide what he was doing from the Brotherhood, or at least avoid them.

 

Liam grunted in what seemed like reluctant agreement. “I’ll switch it when we get back to Sanctuary. Don’t wanna just dump it somewhere. It would feel wrong.”

 

Fair enough. But for now, they’d need to rush.

 

Hopefully that tape would be in the police station and it wouldn’t be half-buried underwater or something.

 

\---

 

That hope was hanging on by a thread the moment they walked through the door. Not only was the building uneven from its foundation eroding, the shifting ground had literally torn the place in half. Just getting to the top floor might require some climbing, and then a bit of risky jumping if they wanted to search the whole place.

 

And all that was before you considered the chance the tape might not even be in the building.

 

Liam sighed, fighting the feeling of defeat threatening to set in when he saw the smashed computer sitting on the welcome counter. “What are the chances of even finding a working terminal in this place…”

 

MacCready was eyeing the suspiciously pristine book return terminal that looked oddly out of place surrounded by all this ruin. “Why? You need one for something?”

 

The blonde just nodded, not even glancing the humming machine’s way. “They tend to list their current cases on them. Or at least, their most  _ recent _ cases,” he amended, almost forgetting all this was from two centuries ago. “More importantly, they list the location of every Eddie Winter holotape that’s gone through the station, and the last known location of their most recent tape. That would give us a starting point to work with, just like it did at the station by the library.” Damn, had that really been the last one? That felt like ages ago, even though it really wasn’t.

 

That thread of hope was fraying fast. If they didn’t find a police terminal, this could be a pointless trip. The only hum of machinery he could hear was that library terminal. ...except it didn’t really get quieter the way he expected as he walked farther away from it. Come to think of it, that background hum was coming from more...above now...

 

Liam looked up at the ceiling, narrowing his eyes with a determined frown. “Hold on. We may be in luck.” He started looking around, carefully stepping over debris littering the uneven floor. A crunching sound soon followed behind him as the sniper apparently decided he didn’t like the idea of standing around in the front room by himself. Not that the blonde blamed him; with the sun setting, this place was becoming eerie.

 

Aha!

 

_ Ladies and gentlemen, we have stairs. _

 

Liam smirked in triumph, turning towards the sniper--

 

_ BOOM _

 

And quickly fell into a crouch, pulling MacCready down with him into the better cover of the walled off stairwell. Even if it only had one wall left, that wall was between them and whatever that explosion had been, and that was good enough for him right now.

 

MacCready just managed to keep from toppling onto his ass as he was shoved behind his boss--ah, partner. “Holy frick--what was--”

 

“I don’t know,” Liam answered, already focusing his attention towards the street and what he could see of it from some cracked windows. “Sounded like a mine went off…?” He assumed anyway.

 

He frowned, tilting his head to listen better as it seemed eerily quiet--

 

_ Zap zap zapzap-- _

 

\--nevermind, not quiet.

 

“Agh!”

 

_ Boom! _

 

Well, that couldn’t be good--

 

**_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM_ **

 

Liam shrank back instinctively, jumping a little as he collided with MacCready, as the whole building shook in time with the street lighting up in a supernova-like blast.

 

The loud explosion morphed into a high pitch as Liam’s vision fizzled to white.

 

White.

 

_ White snow.  _

 

_ Stained gray and red. _

 

_ Ash and blood-- _

 

A hand fell on his shoulder, startling him with a shuddering gasp.

 

Liam whipped his head around, grip tightening on his rifle--

 

Right as vision cleared up, bringing him back to the darkened stairwell he was hiding in, and met the concerned--and nervously startled--blue eyes of MacCready.

 

The only sounds for a few moments were the panicked breaths of two people hiding in the old stairwell of a crumbling police station.

 

_ “Damn deathclaws…” _ Both of their gazes snapped towards the wall, in the direction of the police station’s door. The heavy clomping of power armor boots could be heard just outside. Neither of them had noticed that the Brotherhood had ground troops getting closer. That...wasn’t good. _ “Why did the Elder want us to come here? Even if there was any tech left, the damn water’s probably claimed it by now. I mean,” _ a boot clomped into the building, causing the two of them to tense where they were hidden.  _ “Just look at this place. Whole thing looks ready to go from the next rain.” _

 

“It’s the building most likely to have anything of technological worth to it,” a voice not distorted by power armor pointed from outside. Though they sounded understandably nervous. Definitely made them less convincing in their argument.

 

_ “Yea, well...sorry, Scribe, but I can’t let you go in there. No arguments,” _ the Knight cut off the protest before it could begin.  _ “We’d be doing a lousy job as escorts if we just let you waltz into obviously unstable structures such as this one. Bad enough we’re contending with deathclaws in the area. Don’t need to be digging anyone out from a pile of rubble. Or fishing them from rivers--” _

 

“It’s a reservoir.”

 

_ “...from  _ reservoirs _ …”  _  The eyeroll was audible.  _ “We’ll focus our attention on buildings away from the shoreline first, and only after they should come up empty will we consider the unstable structures along the bank. Understood?” _

 

“...understood, Knight.” They actually sounded relieved at that.

 

The heavy clanging of power armor slowly drifted away. Neither of them dared to break the silence until they could no longer hear the Brotherhood troops.

 

“I guess…” Liam broke it first, trying to joke. “...we’re in the clear for awhile?”

 

“What the hell was that?” MacCready obviously didn’t feel like joking.

 

He flicked his eyes away even though they were hidden. “What do you mean?”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

Liam looked back at the scowl forming on the sniper’s face, deciding how he should answer. It wasn’t exactly a subject he wanted to get into. Wasn’t even something that happened often; he was luckier than most that way. “It’s…” he started, but stopped himself, trying again. “I did mention I was in the army, right?”

 

“...you said something like that, yea…” MacCready’s voice had taken on a calculating tone, like he was trying to puzzle out what Liam wasn’t saying.

 

“Sometimes, I just…” He shook his head. “Nevermind. Look, let’s just...finish up here before the Brotherhood comes back.” He swore he saw a flicker of disappointment go across MacCready’s face. “I’ll go searching the upstairs so you don’t have to worry about falling through the floor. I’m the one who likes climbing after all,” he injected a bit of humor into his voice with a smirk that felt forced.

 

MacCready just looked at him silently. Still with that calculating look. It was enough that he almost started fidgeting, glad he was wearing his gas mask. Finally, the sniper nodded.

 

“Fine. I’ll just stay down here and keep an ear out for trouble.”

 

He hadn’t said it, but the words were clear to Liam.

 

This conversation wasn’t over.

 

But for now, it had to be. He was not hiding from his friend by going upstairs to play “mind the gap” and “don’t fall through the floor”. They just really need to find this tape before the Brotherhood came back.

 

Shut up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that took a darker turn than I intended at the end there. Maybe "dark" isn't the right word. But I wasn't planning some of that. (But when are we surprised by the characters taking control anymore?)


	31. Quite the Pair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm calling this the awkward "getting to know you" chapter.  
> Aka "OH GOD THE FEELS".

Aside from the occasional skitter of loose debris and muffled curse, Liam’s movements were eerily quiet.

 

MacCready still wondered how he managed it. Something to do with his military experience maybe? Or was this his climbing skills coming into play? It wasn’t like he knew the state the top floor was in after all. No way in hell was he going up there either.

 

...unless Liam got into trouble and needed help. But that was the only reason! And only because he was loyal. Also helped that he liked the guy, and was treated fairly, unlike past clients he’d had who treated him like cheap labor. Though his pricing probably hadn’t helped.

 

Great, he was starting to mentally ramble.

 

MacCready thought he could hear a light rhythmic tapping that indicated typing, so he assumed Liam had finally found the working terminal he must’ve heard upstairs. Along with a bit more cursing. Must’ve been giving him some trouble. He still didn’t see the appeal of those things…

 

Growing bored--and anxious from Brotherhood patrols being in the area, even if they did have some time before they showed up again due to having more sense than the two of them about unstable buildings--he decided to step out from the stairwell. It wasn’t like he had to stay in one spot to keep watch. Besides, his leg had started to fall asleep from how he’d been sitting (but he wouldn’t admit that out loud).

 

Peaking out into the main room and seeing no one there, and no one out on the street who might glance this way, he started poking through the main desk for the hell of it on the off chance he might locate the tape first. It wasn’t like he gave a damn about Valentine or his interest in a cold case--even if he had apparently been key in starting the search for Liam’s kidnapped son--but maybe he could move things along a bit so they could get out of here sooner.

 

He started to change his mind about helping when he found was a shriveled up sweet roll. Or he  _ hoped _ it had been a sweet roll…

 

MacCready closed the drawer with a grimace, backing away from the desk and being careful not to bump into the skeleton still slumped over it. His eye caught the book return terminal, still sitting out of place against the wall.

 

Liam had gotten a comic out of the last one; apparently they gave prizes if you had enough tokens for turning in library books. He didn’t have any overdue books on him--or ones he would consider giving up anyway--but maybe there was something interesting still in that machine…

 

Mentally shrugging that he had nothing to lose, MacCready made his way over to it.

 

Of course it was filled with crap. Just his luck. Maybe Liam would find this stuff useful with half of of the junk he’d seen the guy pick up, but it was next to useless to him. The baseball could be interesting...but honestly, it was no better than a rock in terms of fun. Trying not to scoff in case the extra noise would draw attention, he stepped away from the machine…

 

And nearly had a heart attack when a hand fell on his shoulder.

 

“Whoa--” The hand instantly drew back as his head whipped around. “Easy there,” Liam continued, hand still held up almost in surrender. “Didn’t mean to scare you like that.” MacCready almost really did scoff then.

 

As if he’d been scared. Really.

 

...ok maybe a little.

 

But he wouldn’t say that out loud!

 

Instead, he just frowned expectantly.

 

Liam took the hint. “So apparently the tape should be in the store room, where they keep all the files. I didn’t see anything that could’ve been a store room upstairs--and believe me, I looked. I should’ve done long jumping in high school...” he muttered to himself before speaking up again. “So it’s gotta be down here somewhere. You didn’t find any rooms full of filing cabinets, did you?”

 

“I only started to look down here,” he admitted, almost feeling sheepish for leaving his post. Even if he wasn’t told to stay in one spot.

 

The blonde nodded. “Alright. Then hopefully it won’t take too long to comb through this place…if the holotape is even still  _ in _ this place...” he trailed off, looking towards the water visible beyond the crumbling walls.

 

“Might be a good time to invest in a boat,” MacCready commented dryly.

 

“Ha!” Liam managed to keep his outburst quiet. “Maybe. But how about we worry about that if we don’t find the tape? I’d rather not rely on my non-existent boat-building skills before we’ve even tried.”

 

\---

 

Long story short, they found the tape.

 

The full story…

 

Well, it involved Liam wanting to pick every cell door on the off chance the tape found its way into one of them, both Liam and MacCready nearly losing their balance and sliding down the bank along the mud a few times, some petrified panics of thinking the Brotherhood might be coming back (but it turned out to be the building shifting, which was also worrying), and finally, figuring out the muck-filled room in the front of the building was also filled with filing cabinets that Liam had to pretty much climb over said muck to access.

 

He’d had to fight the mud to get his boot back, but at least they were one step closer to Eddie Winter.

 

Liam stashed the holotape into his pack rather than listening to it right away like the last one. Probably a good idea. “Ok, so…that’s another one down.” He looked back up at the sniper. “There should be one at the Coast Guard’s station, off to the east a bit...but I think I’d rather focus on finding a place to camp that isn’t, well…” He looked around the building. “... _ here _ .”

 

That earned a snort in response. “Sounds like a plan.”

 

“We could go back to the roadside motel…” he began thinking out loud.

 

Uhh... “That may be a little close to town.” And Brotherhood. And possibly more deathclaws.

 

At least Liam nodded in agreement to that. “Yea, I thought of that…” He refocused his attention on the sniper. “We  _ could _ try the Interchange again. Except I’m not sure if the Gunners would’ve reclaimed it by now or not.” Too risky. The thought must’ve been reflected on MacCready’s face, because the blonde continued. “Yea, definitely not a good idea. Although...” he seemed to have a sudden realization. “Fort Hagen is pretty close by. We could scout out a place to camp there…”

 

Fort Hagen. Why did that ring a few bells? MacCready was sure he should know that place, but just...couldn’t remember why right now. Just that it wasn’t sitting right with him. But Liam seemed to think it was an ok idea to go with. Did he know something the sniper didn’t?

 

Again, his thoughts must’ve shown on his face or something since Liam seemed to catch on to his doubts. “I haven’t been there in a few weeks, so I can’t say it’s still safe...but it seems better than waiting around here on a crumbling bank.”

 

Fair point.

 

He still wasn’t completely convinced, but it was better than standing around here waiting to get caught.

 

And maybe Liam might clue him in about the place.

 

\---

 

Again with the traveling at night.

 

But this time it was with the intent of finding a place to camp, so it shouldn’t be for long. Ideally anyway. Fort Hagen had been relatively quiet when he’d last come here. Though to be fair, he’d barely scratched the surface of the military town. The untouched office at the front gate was a promising sign of no inhabitants though. (He’d caught MacCready rolling his eyes as he snagged the desk fan.)

 

They picked out a building with a roof that didn’t seem to be full of too many holes. The Red Rocket might’ve been more weather-proof, but honestly, it would be a nightmare to defend. Too exposed. Too many openings. Too...single story.

 

Hell, he’d take going back into Fort Hagen itself and using Kellogg’s strong room over that. But just the thought of that option sent his blood cold. He might’ve ended up pitying the guy in the end, but at the time, the confrontation in there had left a metallic taste in his mouth. Not just in the literal sense. And the place could be wired for all he knew.

 

No, Liam preferred taking his chances with the residential buildings.

 

Most of the windows in the house they’d chosen had been boarded up at some point, hiding their contents from the outside world. The people who’d left it must’ve hoped to come back some day. Now it was just a time capsule, left to stand to the centuries and collect its dust before it too faded away…

 

Liam shook away those thoughts, not needing to be in a morose mood. He quickly went to work scouting the building along with MacCready to make sure it didn’t have any current residents.

 

Not even a radroach.

 

Just some more boarded up windows along the top floor to go with the abandoned furniture. They might get to sleep on a mattress this time instead of just bedrolls. Small victories.

 

After securing the front door the best they could using a combination of the flimsy lock and some  of the downstairs furniture (and deciding that maybe a minefield would be a bad idea in a house), they decided on sleeping in shifts so someone would be on watch.

 

Liam quickly set up a cooking pot, removing his gas mask as he sat back to wait for the water to start heating for soup. The days might not be that cold, but temperatures did noticeably drop at night.

 

MacCready set his pack aside, joining him to lean towards the fire and warm his hands.

 

Liam suddenly snorted as a thought came to him, drawing the sniper’s attention. “Y’know...this might be the first time we’ve camped out where neither of us has been injured. First I get shot in the arm, then I get burned on the other arm (why is it always the arms?) and thrown by a couple of explosions… Although...” Liam lifted the affected appendages to take a better look, even though they were mostly covered by fiberglass guards. “The scars are pretty faded already. You’re not just a good shot, are you?” He lifted his eyes to look across the fire, clearly impressed, but also a bit curious.

 

\---

 

MacCready felt himself start to flush at the compliment. No one had complimented him that much on his shooting. Or even in general. Not since…

 

_ No. Don’t go there. _

 

He just shrugged, trying to play it off as no big deal. Because it wasn’t really. “That’s mostly the stimpaks’ doing.”

 

He got a frown for his efforts. “Hey, don’t sell yourself short. Stimpaks aren’t exactly miracle workers. Believe me, I know.” Liam raised a brow--the one with the scar--pointedly. “Take too long to treat a wound, or don’t clean it right, and a stimpak’s not gonna do shit to prevent a scar.”

 

He had a good point. But still…

 

“That just means they were dealt with fast enough. Nothing to do with skill.” The  _ real _ skill had been from--

 

_ I said don’t go there. _

 

“You literally had to cut my armor off of me,” Liam pointed out with a level stare. “You don’t just  _ know _ the best way to do that.”

 

It was proving really hard not to fidget at that stare...but at that point, the water in the pot started to boil, breaking the spell as Liam’s attention snapped towards it.

 

The second the blonde turned towards his pack to reach for some ingredients, he nearly sighed in relief. But that changed when Liam met his gaze again with a calculating look.

 

\---

 

There was something MacCready obviously wasn’t saying. He wasn’t sure why he wanted to know, and he’d probably stop pushing to find out…

 

But Liam really wished the sniper would take more pride in his skills (not that he knew why he wanted him to). He apparently felt pride in his sniping, hence why Liam mentally referred to him as “the sniper” more often than “the mercenary”.

 

Hell, maybe that was a better direction for conversation.

 

Sitting back from the fire again so the soup could begin to cook, he began with, “So where’d you learn to shoot?”  _ Smooth transition there, Liam. _ Oh well, too late to stop now, so better to go with it. He shrugged at the blink he received, apparently having caught MacCready off guard. “You mentioned having have a lot of experience, but...did someone teach you, or…?” he let the question trail off on purpose.

 

Just like the last time he’d shown he was impressed, it caused the sniper to blush, ducking his head a bit as if his hat might hide his flaming cheeks. It was...kind of cute really. And he squashed that thought down, finding it inappropriate at this time. At least it was better than the tension that had been building in MacCready’s shoulders.

 

“No. No one taught me. I pretty much taught myself.”

 

Liam’s brows shot up. “Seriously? And you’re that good?” Damn, he really should ask for tips, shouldn’t he?

 

“Yea,” the sniper nodded, picking his head up again when he seemed to get his embarrassment under control. Though a bit of a flush remained. “Picked up a sniper rifle when I was ten and never looked back.”

 

If his brows could disappear into his hairline… “ _ Ten _ ? That’s...” Actually, considering the wasteland, that probably wasn’t so insane, was it. Kind of sad really.

 

“Yea, well…” MacCready shrugged. “Not everyone learns to shoot that young, but I kind of had to. And I figured that fighting at a longer distance increased my chances of survival. Needed to learn every trick I could to survive the Capital Wasteland.”

 

The Capital…

 

“So that’s where you’re from?” He’d wondered after the sniper had let slip that he was “taking a big risk” being in the Commonwealth. That was probably also where any friends or family of his might be. Too far to reach easily. He could relate…

 

“Yea…” Here, MacCready trailed off a bit, a look of indecision passing over his face. Liam almost pointed out that he didn’t need to talk about it if he didn’t want to-- “Grew up in a place called Little Lamplight.”--except he apparently  _ did _ want to talk about it. “A settlement of only kids.” Wait-- “We found we couldn’t really trust adults. People changed when they grew up...so when you turned sixteen, you were out.” Was he serious??

 

Liam made sure his jaw wasn’t hanging open before he asked, “Just kids? How’d you survive?”

 

“Everyone pulled their own weight, just like anywhere else.” He seemed a touch defensive. “We all had our own jobs and watched each other’s backs… Hell, for a while there, I was the mayor,” he laughed. “Can you believe that?”

 

Liam felt himself laughing along with MacCready. “Saw the appeal in bossing everyone around?”

 

The sniper smirked at the jibe. “Hey, if the others didn’t like it, it was their own faults. They’re the ones who voted me in. And I kept that position going on four years, thank you very much.” There was that pride. It was a good look for him. “Only reason I stepped down was ‘cause I hit sixteen and needed to head out.” He deflated a bit here. “Took the odd job here or there. But with the Brotherhood running the show, things weren’t easy. So I hitched a ride with the first caravan I could and found myself here. Eventually ran into the Gunners when I heard they were looking for sharpshooters, and...well, the rest you already know.” Cut and dry and to the point. And probably missing some details, but Liam wouldn’t pry for them. “So there you have it. My life in a nutshell.”

 

It was amazing MacCready had even shared that much. He wasn’t even sure how to respond really. “I appreciate you telling me all that.” What else could he say?

 

“Yea, well…” A bit of the blush from earlier started to come back. “You earned it. All this traveling together made me realize I kind of...missed not being on my own. You can make fun of me for it all you want, but I’m going to be doing my damned best to make sure I keep being someone that can be relied on.

 

“Well...that’s all I had to say. Hope you got something out of all that.

 

“I know I did.”

 

Liam stared silently, blinking for a moment, before realizing the lopsided smile that had begun to form on his face. He slowly shook his head. “You’re one strange person, Mac.”

 

MacCready just snorted. “Yea, well, that makes two of us.”

 

Yea. It did, didn’t it.


	32. Faded Photographs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This town was familiar, but not because he'd been here before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a certain scene in my head for awhile. Glad to finally write it out, even if it's slightly different from what I imagined.  
> Also, I know nothing about the military, so don't get mad at any inaccuracies. Not like they mention much about the SS's military life as it is. \o/

_“Message for Claire Posinsky…”_

 

The sounds of the holotape made it easy to track Liam’s movements through the house. It wasn’t a big place, but he’d mentioned wanting to look for anything useful before they headed out for the day. He’d seemed kind of...distracted as he’d said that, already descending the stairs before MacCready had fully packed away his bedroll.

 

The sniper frowned, pausing for a moment as he wondered if something was wrong.

 

_“Reservations are for seven…”_

 

Liam was obviously still downstairs somewhere, but he couldn’t really hear any movements. Hadn’t for a little while.

 

Concern growing, he hurriedly stuffed the bedroll into his pack and made sure he hadn’t left anything behind (even patting his pocket to make sure nothing had fallen out) before heading for the first floor.

 

He found the blonde as the holotape message trailed off, in time to see the gas mask snapping back into place.

 

...but not before he’d caught the shadow of sorrow that crossed his face as he gazed through a picture on the mantle.

 

Frowning again, he stepped closer, deciding to take a quick look.

 

An old faded photo. Two people, standing close enough that they probably had their arms around one another as they faced the camera, posing in front of a house or something.

 

MacCready ignored the gut punch of air leaving his lungs, squashing down memories before they had a chance to resurface (and torment) him.

 

Liam hadn’t actually acknowledged his presence yet. He cleared his throat awkwardly.

 

“So...find anything useful, or just wasting our time again…?” The attempt at irritation fell flat before he’d even tried, sounding forced even to his own ears.

 

Liam gave a half-hearted snort

 

\---

 

He’d been in a daze since waking up.

 

Liam hadn’t realized it at the time of their arrival, but this place… Fort Hagen. It was...familiar. Not because he’d been here before with Preston after Nick and then Dogmeat had led him on the trail to the man who had murd--...to Kellogg…

 

This was a military town. Like the one that had bordered the training facility...

 

It had caused him to dream again. Memories of that time…

 

\---

 

_He watched as they left as a group, talking and laughing amongst themselves and just generally being carefree as they separated off into couples._

 

_A good look for them, one Corporal Liam O’Keeffe wished they could keep, but knew they couldn’t, considering where they were heading soon._

 

_Deployment._

 

_Weeding out the Red Chinese that managed to cross the front lines._

 

_He took another gulp of the whiskey still in his hand, ice clinking as it tilted. He’d never been a big purveyor of alcohol, and his men never expected him to take up their offer of joining them at the bar to unwind. But every so often, he got the urge to take them up on it, to forget they were soldiers, if only for a few hours. It had been especially welcome this time, and he could see they’d needed the extra reassurance that everything would be ok in the coming days, even if they knew they’d soon be getting their first taste of hell. But he had faith in them. He knew their skills._

 

_They were known as the “Shadow Squad”, the ones who could get in close and take out their target before anyone was the wiser. Stealth was their biggest defense, along with the intel they were constantly fed by the “intelligence guy” of the group. Less stealthy, but arguably their biggest asset outside from Liam. (His men’s words; he wasn’t that arrogant.)_

 

_Countless training simulations and exercises had proven how well they all worked together; the synergy they formed. He hoped they were all ready._

 

_It wouldn’t be his first rodeo, and he certainly hoped it wouldn’t be anyone’s last._

 

_So caught up in his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed the lone brunette who had been left behind by her friends when they’d gone off with his men. Not until she’d taken one of the empty bar stools to his side, ordering a drink of her own._

 

_As the barman turned to procure it, she commented, “Surprised you didn’t go with them with the way you were being eyed.”_

 

_He blinked, finally turning towards this mousy-haired woman who had decided to strike a conversation with him. He wasn’t shy by any means, but…_ Ok then… _He quickly recovered, quirking a brow as he picked up on her words. “Wasn’t really interested. Picking up people in a bar isn’t exactly my thing._

 

_“Besides, someone has to make sure those knuckleheads get their asses out of bed before morning inspection…” he muttered around another sip of liquid numbness, realizing a second later the language he had used._ Ah shit. That was rude. _He’d obviously been around only army folk for too long._

 

_She didn’t seem to mind, merely snorting in good humor at his remark. “Yea, someone has to, I suppose.” She held out a hand. “The name is Nora, by the way. The one who got dragged along and ultimately ditched by her friends for a group of good-looking soldiers and is now talking to the one they also ditched.”_

 

_He couldn’t help snorting in response to that, taking her hand to shake. “Corporal Liam O’Keeffe, the one who turned them down because he needs to keep a level head because the rest of his squad certainly don’t.”_

 

_Her brows shot up a bit. “Corporal, eh? Wouldn’t have known. That why they let you get away with that haircut?”_

 

_He smirked, reaching a hand up to touch a stray lock of blonde hanging over his forehead, the rest falling in gentle waves that came to the middle of his neck. “The crewcut thing wasn’t really working for me. Besides, I’d like to see them try. They’d have to find me first.” And ultimately, it wasn’t like his hair was messing with his abilities, so they generally let him get away with it. Being highly skilled and charismatic helped in that regard._

 

_She seemed amused at his answer, and lapsed into conversation about their respective career paths._

 

_He learned she had been born into a military family herself--explained why she was in this town--and was studying law at the local university. She’d only come here tonight because her friends had convinced her she was studying too hard. In reality, it looked like they’d been trying to hook her up with almost anyone at the bar, but had ultimately given up. Liam’s squad had probably hoped to do the same with him, thinking he spent too much time on his own or working too hard (even though he had to; who else would make sure those idiots took care of themselves?)._

 

_The rest of the night was a bit of a blur, rushing by as they both nursed their drinks, not interested in getting drunk or even tipsy; just letting the conversation continue until it was time to leave._

 

_They met a few more times after that. Sometimes sitting quietly in shared exhaustion from a long day, sometimes chatting about nothing important. Other times, they’d people watch, speculating on the inner workings of the various people who visited the bar. Coming up with theories as to why they were spending all their time here, or even remarking on the better...assets of them._

 

_And Liam didn’t discriminate._

 

_Hell, neither did Nora for that matter._

 

_Something they both learned on one such night, taking a bold leap in their conversation._

 

_“See that guy over there?” Liam gestured vaguely with his chin at the gentleman chatting up a rather busty woman at the bar. Nora followed his gaze from the table they’d chosen off in the corner._

 

_“What about him?”_

 

_“He stuffs.”_

 

_She blinked. “Wait. Really?”_

 

_He brought up his drink for a sip. “Yep. Definitely compensating.”_

 

_“Huh, wouldn’t have known…though I guess he is moving a bit carefully...” He missed the way her eyes flicked in his direction for a brief second before going back towards the bar. “Well…” her voice took on a more confident ‘two can play that game’ tone. “That lady stuffs, too.”_

 

_He almost choked on his drink. “Are you serious?” he managed after recovering. He tried to not-so-obviously follow Nora’s chocolate brown gaze._

 

_“I am.”_

 

_“...how can you tell?”_

 

_She gave him an eye. “How can_ you _?”_

 

_“...” He stared._

 

_She stared._

 

_Stare._

 

_Stare._

 

_“...” Liam brought up his drink again. “Touche.”_

 

\---

 

He had played the conversations he could remember over and over again in his head until morning, hoping to remember more, but the words were always just out of his grasp, only leaving him with snippets. It was lucky nothing had come knocking during his watch; he might not have noticed.

 

He _had_ noticed the creak of MacCready coming down the stairs, though, and had to quickly hide his face in a panic. There was no way he’d have been able to wipe away the grief he was sure was showing. Damn these old photos stirring up those awakened memories...

 

He had no way of knowing who these people were; the images were too damaged. But there was definitely a snapshot of a couple, possibly commemorating their move-in day.

 

His gut clenched, wishing that when he’d left the vault, he could’ve found a few of himself and--

 

Liam shut off those thoughts right away, not needing to have a breakdown when he was already on the verge of having a breakdown. His hand clenched subconsciously, feeling the wedding band press into his finger. He took comfort in that reassuring feeling.

 

He suddenly realized MacCready had asked a question. It had been a half-hearted jibe at his junk-collecting ways...but a question all the same that he should answer.

 

Forcing on a more cheerful tone, he quipped, “Well, there was this desk fan over by the door there…”

 

He wasn’t sure if MacCready was buying it or not, seeming to frown a bit before he ultimately went along with the game. “Just as long as you’re carrying it.”

 

Even though they both tried to remain upbeat and act normal, the rest of their time scouring that house had a somber feel to it.

 

\---

 

Was it something he’d said?

 

Maybe MacCready should have left out the heartfelt confession crap during their talk last night. All that stuff about how he’d “missed having travel company” and “being someone to rely on”...

 

Did Liam think he was being too clingy now? Maybe that face he’d been hiding had been one of regret for keeping him around, and he was having second thoughts about their traveling. Maybe he’d only helped him out with the Gunners because he’d felt sorry for him. Maybe--

 

“Oh, before I forget.” Liam seemed to snap out of his “trance” finally, stopping as they stepped out the door (once they had moved all the furniture that had been barring it out of the way). He turned towards the sniper. “We should grab that power armor you wanted. If it’s still there.”

 

\--maybe he was being an idiot who should stop thinking too much.

 

MacCready blinked. “Wait, you were serious about that?” He would not grin. Even though power armor. Really cool power armor.

 

“Of course I was.” He sounded surprised. Offended, even. “I also seem to remember saying you’d be the one to work on it since you wanted it so much. Unless you don’t actually want it…?”

 

The sniper stammered for a second. “Of--of course I do!”

 

The gas mask nodded. MacCready was sure there was a smug expression hidden under there. (The figurative mask was back in place.) “Then let’s go get it. And be on guard; we don’t know if the Brotherhood is still in the area, or if anything else nasty moved in…” He turned to start down the road, glancing about as he did to check the area. “Let’s try to move quickly. I’m hoping to reach Sanctuary before nightfall.”

 

He wasn’t entirely sure why Liam wanted to get there so fast, but alright. If it meant he got his power armor and he wasn’t being kicked to the curb, that was fine with him. He had promised to keep watching the guy’s back after all, and that’s what he would do.

 

He also couldn’t help noticing the way Liam was fiddling with the golden ring on his finger.

 

\---

 

The way back to the motel was luckily pretty quiet. No scavengers picking at the corpses they’d left behind on their initial way in. No sounds of growls, screeches, heavy footfalls, or even vertibirds hinting at something “fun” headed their way. Just the corpses--both human and rusted car shell--that still littered the front lot of the small roadside stop.

 

He could feel MacCready’s concerned stare boring into his back.

 

Maybe he should’ve said something instead of hiding behind his mask again. But...honestly, Liam wasn’t sure he was ready to talk about that. With anyone. Hell, he’d barely made it through the telling of the whole Vault story when speaking to Nick, and that had only happened because the detective needed as many details as he could provide in order to be of any use to his case. Not even Piper had gotten the whole thing from him during her interview. She’d no doubt noticed the ring though, and come to her own various conclusions. One of those was probably right, too; she was clever like that.

 

But he was mentally rambling.

 

Turning, he gestured with his head towards the building, hinting to MacCready that all seemed clear. His pipboy wasn’t picking up any hostiles.

 

And there it still was. In all its scrap metal glory. The piece of crap excuse for a suit of power armor.

 

That for some reason, MacCready really wanted.

 

Liam didn’t even know why he had given in about it. It was one of _his_ cores they’d be using to power it after all. Might be guilt driving him on, still influenced by the dismal pay rate the sniper had allowed himself to have for so long.

 

Or he just liked the guy and considered him a friend now. He definitely saw MacCready as someone he could trust a bit more and had gained the trust of.

 

Adding to the collection of wayward souls he had gathered. Heh. What was it that drew people to him?

 

Snapping out of his thoughts again, he turned towards the sniper, who had been looking at the odd suit rather appraisingly. “Ever use power armor before?” He’d probably already asked that, but it didn’t hurt to double check.

 

MacCready paused from where he’d been testing the rebar rods going up as a cage in front of the helmet, eyes shifting to the side in a bit of a flush. Was he embarrassed? “Um...no, actually…” he muttered.

 

Liam nodded, confirming his suspicions. “Thought so.” He looked at the armor again, judging it closer. “I better be the one to pilot this back, then…”

 

The sniper turned an offended frown at him. “What. Why?”

 

So defensive. _I should not find that cute._

 

Smirk safely hidden, Liam maintained control of his voice enough to keep his tone matter-of-fact. “Controlling a suit of power armor can be tricky, especially if you’ve never done it before. And that’s in the _best_ of scenarios. This thing here,” he tapped it with the back of a hand, carefully avoiding the more spiky bits, “is what you’d call a ‘worst-case scenario’. Rusted metals, knee actuators in unknown shape but I suspect also rusted… Faceplate a mess and probably hard to see through… And that’s not even considering what shape the motors could be in…”

 

MacCready’s eyes had widened by the end of that, raising his hands defensively as if to fend off the tirade of words. “Alright, fine, I’m convinced. You drive the damn thing back.” He lowered his hands, a hint of the frown from before taking over again, hinting that even though he accepted the situation, he wasn’t happy about it.

 

Liam snorted. “Sorry. Just...these are important things to know. Heck, the fact this armor isn’t great means you’ll learn a lot just by working on it.” He didn’t even know everything himself. Just some basics really. Maybe Sturges would be able to help; he was a mechanic after all. “But we won’t be getting anywhere just by standing around talking about it.” He pulled a fusion core from his pack. “Let’s get this thing back to Sanctuary.”

 

He snapped the core into place, reaching for the wheel to release the armor’s pressure seals.


	33. You Lead, I Follow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter, but that spot seemed right to stop it in.

_ Whrr. Grind. Screech. _

 

The series of sounds that couldn’t be good were really grating on his ears.

 

Liam was right; that suit was in horrible shape. MacCready was kind of glad he wasn’t the one driving it right now. It looked like the guy was having to physically make the legs work correctly instead of directing the suit to do certain movements. Or he was pretty sure that was how it worked… Liam did say there were motors. Motors that were obviously barely accepting the power that should be coursing through them.

 

He’d also removed the helmet almost right away, deeming it “too crap to see through” and instead hooking it to the side to carry that way along with his pack.

 

Of course, this also made him look a little sillier, but MacCready wasn’t about to comment. Liam could change his mind about dragging along the “walking scrap” as he’d called it, or even say the sniper needed to do the dragging himself if he really wanted this particular set of power armor. And with the way that thing was (hardly) moving…

 

Yea, he’d keep his mouth shut.

 

He did wonder if the blonde wanted to stop to rest though. That had to be tiring him.

 

But no. He seemed to be stubbornly marching along, physical prowess lingering from his army days, or just sheer determination, edging him onward.

 

They’d had to pass by Fort Hagen again, which was luckily as quiet as they’d left it. MacCready still wondered about that. The eerie air to the place…

 

“It’s where I dealt with Kellogg.”

 

MacCready blinked, nearly stopping in his tracks. “Come again?” He wasn’t sure he’d heard right, what with the constant grinding sounds taking over like they were. For all he knew, he’d imagined Liam suddenly talking.

 

“Fort Hagen.” The words were quieter this time, but definitely not imagined. “You heard Deacon mention how I took out Kellogg… Turns out he was hauled up in Fort Hagen, right in the heart of the town’s namesake.”

 

Well...he wasn’t sure what brought this on, but damn if MacCready wasn’t interested in hearing about it. Hell, he’d almost forgotten the rest of what was brought up in that Railroad meeting.

 

“Kellogg is... _ was _ …” Liam hesitated a moment, before he forced out the words. “He’s the one who kidnapped my son.”

 

A quick intake of breath caught in MacCready’s lungs.

 

_ Oh. _

 

What could he say to that?

 

He wasn’t given the chance to contemplate a response as the blonde continued, a sort of detachment accompanying his words as if he needed to separate himself from their meaning in order to be able to say them. “Nick was able to figure it out after I described to him what happened that day. In the vault. He recognized the description I gave. Turns out Kellogg used to have a house in Diamond City, so we managed to get in, pick up his trail, and Dogmeat led Preston and me to that place. Fort Hagen. Had to fight our way through it. Lost count of how many rounds we ended up using...but we finally reached him… Kellogg…”

 

It was hard to identify the underlying mood tightening Liam’s voice. Rage? Weariness?

 

Grief?

 

“He wasn’t--...” Liam drew a shaky breath. “Shaun wasn’t there.”

 

All of the above then.

 

MacCready felt his heart clench. He tried to ignore it, thinking it silly since he already knew Liam hadn’t found his son yet; otherwise he wouldn’t still be searching. And...need to go to the Glowing Sea apparently. Which was still an insane concept to grasp. Who even hid in the Glowing Sea??

 

“I only found out later after going to Good--...that he was being held somewhere else.” MacCready noted the slip he cut off. “And...well, I already told you where the trail led me. Need to find a guy hiding in the Glowing Sea so he’ll tell me how to get in.”

 

_ In where? _ He nearly smacked himself even as he thought the words. Of course Liam meant the Institute. He’d only told him a few days ago! But to be fair, it had been an eventful few days, just before they’d taken out Winlocke and Barnes. Liam was probably being vague on that front since they were on the open road.

 

Though to be fair, the day so far had been uneventful. Probably helped that they were passing by areas cleared relatively recently. Hell, he’d recognized the water treatment plant through the treeline. It should be easy going from here, but he still kept up his guard, knowing that in the wasteland, you were never truly safe.

 

Liam let out a single laugh that contained no humor. “I’m not even sure why I’m telling you this. Not like it’ll do anything. Change anything that’s happened…” He shook his head. “Ehh, guess I just felt like you should know. Or I’m in a sharing mood,” he managed a more upbeat tone. “Hell, maybe I’m just trying to distract myself from lugging this piece of crap power armor back to Sanctuary for a certain tagalong sniper.”  _ Now _ he was definitely laughing. At MacCready no less.

 

MacCready caught on to the invitation to rib at each other before it could slip away. “Hey, I’m just following our deal. You lead, I follow, remember?”

 

“Like I said. ‘Tagalong’.” The smirk was obvious.

 

He scoffed. “Oh please. You need my help and you know it. We both know you’re a lousy shot.”

 

“Oh.  _ Ouch. _ You sure like rubbing that in.” He mock rubbed at a spot on the power armor’s chest as if he’d taken a physical blow.

 

“Only ‘cause it’s true.”

 

“Ok, hotshot.” Liam dropped his hand from his chest. “Next enemy we come across, I challenge you to make only headshots.”

 

Was he serious? Either way, MacCready couldn’t resist the challenge. “You’re on.” He just hoped his skills were up to par.

 

But from the much more cheerful mood Liam was in, he definitely wouldn’t regret accepting that challenge.

 

\---

 

Except they didn’t see anyone for the next few hours.

 

Graygarden had come into view much sooner than expected, and soon the railway dumped them off by Drumlin. There weren’t even any raiders harrying Trudy or her son today.

 

And here he was hoping to see MacCready make some more impressive shots. Liam wasn’t even sure why he was disappointed. Or why he’d even issued that challenge.

 

Oh well. The quiet meant he didn’t need to attempt any actual maneuvering in this shitty power armor. It was already difficult enough to just walk normally in. The joints definitely needed oiling, and that was at minimum. He hated to see how much rust was most likely clogging...everything. Sturges might actually have a heart attack at this thing.

 

The sun was low in the sky when the iconic Minutemen statue crested into view. The irony of the current Minutemen’s return living in the settlement just beyond it wasn’t lost on Liam.

 

“What?”

 

_ Huh? _ As Liam turned his head towards the hill lining the road across from Red Rocket, a cold chill settled in as he registered what that grunting voice meant.

 

_ You’ve gotta be shitting me... _

 

Just how many super mutants were in the Commonwealth? And were they all in their way?!

 

Liam awkwardly reached for his rifle, struggling to get the rustbucket to move backwards and let him get a bit of distance in before they got too close, and just where the hell had MacCready gone--

 

_ Bang bang! _

 

The first one tumbled the rest of the way down the ridge, battered piece of wood clattering forward from the mutant’s dead grasp to land at his feet.

 

He whipped his head to the side.

 

There was the sniper, set up behind a rusted vehicle in the lot of Red Rocket, frowning in concentration as he lined up his shots through the scope--

 

_ Bang! _

 

_ Thud! _

 

Down another went.

 

Perfect headshot number two.

 

The third was drawing closer now, a mini nuke cradled under one arm like a deadly football run--

 

_ Bang! _

 

The shot hit.

 

But the mutant only stumbled, continuing to run with a yell of rage--

 

_ Bang bang bang! _

 

Liam finally got his shit together and managed to land a few shots in a leg, causing the greenskin to tumble face first into the ground.

 

He waited a moment, sights lined up on the unmoving form in case the thing wasn’t dead yet.

 

_ Bang! _

 

He flinched a little as one final fountain of red erupted from between the chains covering the mutant’s skull.

 

There was a twitch, then stillness.

 

Definitely dead now.

 

Breathing heavily, Liam lowered his rifle, still staring at the would-be ambush now littering the browned grass of the hill.

 

Damn, that had been way too close to Sanctuary for his liking. They might need to set up some defenses out here. Red Rocket was technically part of the Minutemen network; it just wasn’t occupied. But maybe he could build a few turrets; point them at the road as a sort of first line of defense in case anything else hostile came this way--

 

He held back another flinch of surprise as footsteps approached, coming up to stand at his side. He recognized the sound of MacCready’s boots crunching the gravel.

 

“Damn greenskins… I’m starting to hate that particular color.”

 

Liam raised a brow, turning his--still covered--face the sniper’s way, unable to help noticing the green shirt and trousers he wore under the duster. “Oh really.”

 

MacCready glanced at him, double-taking a bit as he noticed he was being stared at. “I meant-- _ that _ \--” He gestured to the dead super mutants. “--kind of green. Not like...what I’m wearing. They’re completely different.”

 

“Uh-huh,” he replied flatly.

 

The shades of green were different all right. He was just having fun messing with the sniper.

 

He got a scowl aimed his way in response--which was still cuter than it should be and more like a pout really--but MacCready seemed to pick up that he was being teased, the scowl morphing into a flat-eyed frown. “Ok, you jerk. You can shut up now.” It was really hard not to grin at that. “Besides…” the sniper continued, flicking his head towards the scattering of bodies. “There’s your headshots.”

 

_ Huh… _ Liam gazed over the hill again. “So they were. Although...I couldn’t help noticing the last guy took  _ two  _ headshots to stay down.”

 

“Hey, it was still a headshot. You didn’t specify I had to kill them in one hit.”

 

“...ok, you have me there,” Liam admitted.

 

“Besides, with how small a super mutant’s brain is, I’m surprised they even notice they’re being shot in the head.”

 

He chuckled. “Yea, that’s true. Sometimes I even wonder if they forget to breathe.” They both laughed at that. Liam managed to stop enough to speak again. “Alright, hotshot, I’ll let you do the honors of looting. You definitely earned it.” Pause. “That, and I don’t think I could bend in this suit even if I wanted to.”

 

MacCready snorted. But happily obliged.

 

Liam couldn’t help noticing the spring in his step as he did so.


	34. That was the deal after all

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do titles? \o/  
> Also a nod to what one of my regular readers (CheeseForEveryone) brought up in the last chapter. Liam is no power armor expert (yet), but even he's facepalming at himself now.

“God _damn_.”

 

Just as Liam predicted, Sanctuary’s mechanic was shocked and appalled at the state of the power armor they’d dragged in and then somehow managed to “park” in the makeshift workshop of the main house’s old carport.

 

“The hell did you get that rust bucket?” Sturges stared at it, hands on hips, looking like he’d like nothing more than to grab a wrench and start getting to work. “I’ve never seen power armor in worse shape in my life. And believe me, I’ve worked on some bad rigs. Hell, I’m surprised that thing even runs, let alone made it this far.”

 

Liam massaged at a shoulder once he was free from the “rust bucket”. “Try actually piloting it. I feel like I dragged a truck across the Commonwealth. Without any wheels,” he added on for emphasis.

 

Sturges snorted. “Yea, I bet. From the looks of things, those actuators have seen better days. Frayed wires, worn gears...not to mention the rust…” He shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “This thing looks like it’s never seen a single day of maintenance in its life...outside its cobbled together patch job that is. I gotta know, what made you even drag this thing back here?”

 

Liam glanced at the sniper, who had been pointedly not making eye contact with anyone that happened to glance at the power armor. “Well...I would say the answer is ‘because it was there’, but…” He plucked the odd “diver helmet” off the side of the power armor where he’d hooked it, marched over to the sniper, and promptly shoved it into his hands, causing him to blink at it in surprise. “You can place all the blame on this one here. He’s the one who wanted it, so it’s going to be _his_ personal project. With some help of course.”

 

MacCready shot a scowl at him. “Hey, I didn’t say we _had_ to take it with us.”

 

Liam lifted off his gas mask to show how much he believed that. “Could’ve fooled me with how loudly you were thinking it.” He was so fooled, his eyebrow was practically part of his hairline.

 

“Still doesn’t mean you needed to drag it here.”

 

“Well, I figured it couldn’t hurt for you to learn power armor maintenance.”

 

“You could probably learn more yourself. I’m surprised you didn’t stop to oil the joints with how much they were grinding.”

 

“...”

 

“Might’ve made it easier to deal with and be less like ‘dragging a truck across the Commonwealth’.”

 

Liam...didn’t have a good response to that one. Other than “touche”, and that was basically admitting how limited his own power armor knowledge was. Even though he’d said it was limited. It was still more than MacCready had, though. Who was currently looking a bit smug for seemingly rendering him speechless.

 

...but really, why hadn’t he thought of such a simple thing as lubricating the rusted joints so it would move better? He probably had at least one partly filled oil can that could’ve made the legs run smoother, if only for a little while. Even if his knowledge was from before the war and he hadn’t specialized in power armor in his army days, that was just...common sense...

 

Sturges was giving them an odd look that was part amused and part...something else Liam couldn’t quite identify. The blonde cleared his throat awkwardly, tempted to put his mask back on as redness threatened to tinge his cheeks. Why was he even feeling embarrassed? “Right. So... I’m just going to go attempt to get some of the road dirt off of me before figuring out something for dinner…” He started for the street, intending to cross it to reach his house.

 

“Oh, about that,” the mechanic called out before he could walk away, causing him to pause mid-step and turn back. “We’ve been taking a closer look around the neighborhood and looks like most of the houses here still have pretty good plumbing in place...despite the lack of actual fixtures in most of them…” he trailed off, looking off to the side in thought, but looked back over as if he hadn’t stopped. “You might also be happy to know we finally got the hot water heater working in the main house, and from what that zany robot of yours says, the kinks have finally been worked out of the one over in that house of yours.” Liam’s eyes brightened at this even as Sturges continued. “And the water’s finally in a lot better shape since you got that treatment plant running again. Don’t need to keep relying on the water pumps all the time. Guess the pipes just needed time to flush out all those rads.”

 

Liam blinked a few times. “That...might be the best news I’ve heard all week. Whatever day of the week it is.” He looked at his pipboy. “This thing doesn’t exactly tell me.

 

“Anyway, I’ll be back in a bit…”

 

If he walked faster than usual towards his house, nobody commented.

 

\---

 

Another night at Sanctuary.

 

Something MacCready still wasn’t sure he could get used to, but he was warming up to the experience, not objecting to having warm food and (mostly) warm company to share said warm food with in an equally warm space.

 

Yea. Despite the odd mix of people and varying initial levels of trust that had been directed at him, “warm” was definitely a fitting word for this settlement.

 

Liam seemed eager to know how everyone was doing, what needed to be done, how the crops were, if they might need more defenses...and in turn, the motley group were eager to share updates on the progress of Sanctuary. Currently there was discussion of how they’d managed to clear out most of the buildings and found that the ones that were still standing shouldn’t be too difficult to patch up and make livable again so everyone might be able to have their own houses to occupy. This was pleasing news to the Minutemen General--MacCready had to remind himself of that, since it was easy to forget who the blonde was--who began to discuss what supplies they might need to fix everything up and possibly think about building a protective wall once that was done in case it started to attract the wrong sort of attention. That got many words of agreement, the levels of eagerness to see that done shining brightly in the settlers’ eyes. He started to wonder where these people had come from to be that worried about safety. More than the usual wastelander even...

 

It was around that point he started zoning out, most of it not as interesting as the stew in his hands. How the hell had Liam managed to turn meat as tough as radstag into something this good?

 

Preston had tried to bring him into the conversation, remembering that he’d been part of the clearing and restoring of Weston Water Treatment Plant, but MacCready had just sort of...grunted noncommittally at the appreciation being directed his way, not really used to receiving thanks on any level. He caught Liam looking his way as well, and had to fight not to blush at the extra attention when he realized the soft smirk the guy had on his face. Luckily, he also seemed to pick up on the sniper’s discomfort at the situation, soon drawing everyone’s attention to himself again. MacCready nearly sighed in relief when those eyes left him. Discussion continued for awhile as more things were brought to the General’s attention. He definitely gave off an air of leadership, like this wasn’t his first experience with commanding a group. Something to do with his past maybe?

 

Dinner ended soon after that, the sun having set long ago. MacCready exited the main house, heading for the makeshift building he’d stayed in the last time he was here--a sort of temporary shack Liam and Sturges had put together for more beds to go into since not everyone could fit in the main house. No one wanted to impose on Liam’s home, either, even though it was big enough. They respected the guy too much. Though MacCready wasn’t sure if they just weren’t wary of his robot butler...

 

He saw the faint red glow of a laser musket as he walked, Preston’s whistling accompanying it as he patrolled the grounds. At one point, he’d also caught Dogmeat sniffing along the ground, following some hidden trail only he could detect. Who really knew. He’d only really known one other dog in his life, and last he’d heard, that one had gone missing a few years back. What had the mutt’s name been again…?

 

_Huh...those two were with Liam when he went to Fort Hagen and faced Kellogg,_ he realized. Yet here they both were, guarding Sanctuary rather than watching Liam’s back. Instead, Liam had gone and hired a merc for the job. He wondered at that…

 

“Hey, hold up a sec!” MacCready paused before he could enter the bunkhouse to turn in for the night, turning to find Liam jogging up to him. He raised a brow curiously.

 

“So…” the blonde began once he was in earshot, “I know you were going to start working on that power armor tomorrow…” MacCready tried not to frown, remembering the list of things Sturges had pointed out were wrong with the suit. Or rather, _not_ remembering the list of things wrong with the suit since there had been too many to count and Sturges had been rambling on for awhile. Hell, he’d only stopped when he realized the sniper’s eyes were glazing over, and finally decided that he should probably just write it all down and get back to him on it...but MacCready shook that thought away, focusing on the rest of what Liam was saying. “Preston mentioned that Tenpines Bluff, one of our nearby settlements, requested some help with their defenses. They’re worried that something might attack them, and while they _do_ have a bit of natural defense from being on the edge of a cliff, their location is...kind of remote. Makes it difficult to send out extra help when they need it. So I was thinking about building a few turrets; something that might hold off any attackers until more help can arrive. You alright with heading over there in the morning? It shouldn’t take too long, but there was also another settlement I heard about out east I was hoping to check out, too.”

 

While heading out again so soon after just getting to a safe space with good food and comfortable beds was a little...depressing...MacCready had to admit, traveling with Liam did have its appeal. It was never boring, that was for sure. Something a safe settlement could be after a while. Plus, it meant not having to start the tedious and possibly backbreaking work of getting that power armor working, or finding that it was indeed hopeless and should become a source of scrap. He already wondered if it was worth it...but had to remind himself that it would be, even if only for a future set of power armor they might come across.

 

Meeting Liam’s curious--and somewhat hopeful--gray gaze again, MacCready had his answer.

 

“You lead, I follow. That was the deal after all.”

 

Liam grinned, obviously pleased with the answer as he nodded. “I’ll see you in the morning then.”

 

MacCready ignored the warm burst he’d felt at that grin, and continued to ignore it as he went to bed.

 

\---

 

_Ah. Damn, I was going to visit--_ Liam reached for the holotape tucked safely in his pocket, coming up short as his hand made contact with metal instead. Not the Brotherhood chest piece, but a regular combat armor plate he’d forgotten about until going through his stores that morning.

 

_Sorry, hon. I’ll remember to next time I’m home; I swear._ He probably imagined it, but he thought he felt a bit of warmth radiating from his front pocket in response, as if he was being told it was ok. No harm done. He smiled sadly at that, dropping his hand back to his side again as he and MacCready continued down towards the railway that would lead them to Tenpines.

 

“So I’ve been meaning to ask.” Speaking of the sniper he was traveling with... “You’re the General, right? The guy in charge of the Minutemen? So why is it you heading for these settlements? Shouldn’t it be one your men doing that instead?”

 

Liam smirked, hidden beneath the mask again. He wasn’t surprised this question came up. “It’s...interesting,” he began, shrugging. “A lot more personal than delegating tasks. I’d rather get to know the people we’re helping; put faces to the names. Actually see the results myself instead of being told or reading them in reports. There’s something less real about seeing figures on a paper instead of figures working a field of crops and seeing them not needing to look over their shoulder every minute because they’re afraid of what might come to attack.”

 

MacCready studied him quietly for a minute, a curious expression on his face. Finally, he shook his head almost in wonder. “I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. You’re a weird guy.”

 

“I take that as a compliment...” he trailed off, reaching a hand out to grip the sniper’s arm and halt him in his tracks. “We should probably head off the road now and start cutting across until we find the tracks.”

 

The sniper frowned, looking like he might be getting ready to tug himself free. It wasn’t like Liam had a painful grip on him, but it was insistent. “Why? Wouldn’t it be safer to stick to the road?”

 

The blonde shook his head. “Not here.” He gestured to the buildings up ahead, just visible through the orange glow of early morning fog. Along with a few lumbering forms moving about. “I’ve been this way before and I know for a fact that ghouls like to hang around the train station.” He felt MacCready tense beneath his grasp as he followed his gaze, reminding him of his reactions the last few times they’d come across ghouls. He still meant to ask about that...eventually. “I’d rather not tangle with them if that’s alright with you.” Especially not when weighted down with metal and other scraps he planned to turn into a couple of working turrets. Dodging while carrying all of this would be a nightmare. Hell, he’d rather get slashed by a yao guai. At least their claws didn’t cause his pipboy to go into a panic of clicks.

 

“Yea…” MacCready agreed a bit shakily. “Sounds like a place to avoid.”

 

Liam nodded, already gently pulling the sniper towards the hill off the road. “We might come across a few bloatflies and radstags, but…”

 

“Definitely better than ghouls,” MacCready finished the sentiment. Bloatflies were annoying (what kind of defense was spitting your own offspring at things??) and radstags were skittish. But at least they didn’t go charging at you headlong only to impossibly dodge half your shots and avoid being slowed down while screeching like madmen. Which they were. And that only made it worse. Maybe that was what bothered MacCready so much?

 

Luckily, no spitting flies or skittish deer hindered their path today. Only the crunch of brown grass giving way beneath their feet as they left the ghoul-festered train station to disappear behind them in the fog.


	35. The Best Defense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The best way to handle trouble is to completely avoid it.  
> But sometimes it decides to find you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That title and summary make this seem more epic than it really is. I just fail at titles and summaries.

MacCready was currently feeling kind of useless.

 

Or maybe “out of his element” was the right phrase.

 

Tenpines Bluff was a small settlement, currently only inhabiting a couple that tended to their crop of tatos, and not much else. They had a modest shack and a small area for cooking. Basic. Not much to look at or attract much attention.

 

Yet he could see signs of unwanted attention. Bits of disturbed soil where some of the crops had been trampled or destroyed and needed to be removed, a crude patch job on the side of the house where something might’ve smashed the wall in…

 

And the people themselves. They’d been ready to draw their weapons at the pair’s approach, and only lowered them once they recognized the Minutemen General. Though he was pretty sure they didn’t know that’s who the blonde was. They probably just thought he was a representative of the Minutemen or the guy they sent out the most for jobs like these. Despite the trust they put in Liam, they continued to shoot wary glances at “obviously a merc” MacCready. Which was ironic since Liam’s armor was so cobbled together, he fit the part of merc a bit better. Maybe it had to do with how clean the guy kept himself. Couldn’t be a raider with hair that shiny.

 

As it was, he found himself standing around doing almost nothing for most of the time they were there. He kept watch, sure, but at the moment it seemed pretty quiet, outside of a few occasional gunshots in the distance. But that was pretty typical for the wasteland. As long as it stayed distant, there was no threat. It wasn’t like he could see very far anyway; the fog was doing its best to linger and make things difficult. It only started to clear out when he heard the puttering of a second turret coming to life. MacCready mentally breathed a sigh of relief. That meant they were done here and he could stop feeling like he was being judged just for existing. It hadn’t even been this awkward the first time going to Sanctuary.

 

The sun was high in the sky as Liam stood, brushing off his hands and wiping at his hairline despite the gas mask blocking most of it. He still needed to ask about that. Especially since he’d been catching the blonde wearing it less and less, and only really putting it back on when they hit the road.

 

“And that should do it,” Liam commented, turning towards the settlers that had gathered closer at noticing the job complete. “Not a perfect system, but it should keep things off your property or at least deter them enough to give us time to rush your aid.”

 

“Thanks again for coming out here.” The guy--he hadn’t caught either of their names and doubted they would’ve even given them to a lowly merc like him--was looking at Liam with such gratitude shining in his eyes. Like he was ready to give his life savings if he was asked. “We know this isn’t the exactly the easiest place to get to, or even that big, but we appreciate it all the same.”

 

Liam shook his head. “It’s never a problem. The Minutemen are always happy to help. Just let us know if there’s any more trouble and someone will be over to help you out.”

 

“Thank you again.”

 

Liam simply nodded. “We should be on our way now,” he said apologetically as a means of taking his leave. “Never a shortage of settlements to check on.”

 

MacCready took that as his cue to follow, and he did so happily, eager to be on the road again and away from this cliffside settlement with the distrusting pair. They still looked at him with uncertainty as he passed...but maybe a little less so now. Probably helped that he was there with Liam and hadn’t done anything but keep an eye out.

 

_Guess I can’t blame them for not trusting anyone. Doubt they get many people out this way. Or at least not friendly ones very often…_

 

Hell, he could relate to that. Reminded him of his Little Lamplight days. As the mayor, he’d _had_ to be wary of everyone that came waltzing up to their gate, or that colony wouldn’t have lasted under his watch. Wouldn’t have lasted at all if wariness wasn’t in their foundation.

 

Focusing on following Liam, he noticed that instead of going back down the hill, they were heading towards a crude-looking bridge that spanned the ravine. _Oh, great._ What was it with Liam and--often unstable--high places?

 

“Should we really be going this way?”

 

“Hm?” Liam looked back over his shoulder. “Ah, yea, I’ve used it before. It’ll hold just fine.” He looked forward again. “But really, I’m just going with it ‘cause it heads east.”

 

And luckily it wasn’t a very long bridge. But it also pointed them towards…

 

“That’s not good…” MacCready took in the windmills he could see on top of the highway ahead.

 

Gunners.

 

Just what they needed.

 

“Hm?” Liam looked upwards ahead of them as well. “Ah.” He paused. “I guess we could just...go around…” he trailed off as buzzing caught their attention, along with a disgusting spitting sound. “...or we could kill bloatflies first.”

 

\---

 

Some bloatfly smashing and Gunner highway avoidance later…

 

Liam stared through the scope of his sniper rifle at the ghouls gathered ahead.

 

What was it with cemeteries and ghouls? He swore they attracted them. Like flies to a brahmin carcass.

 

Liam lowered the scope from his eye--or mask, rather--about to suggest they try skirting around as they didn’t need to actually go through the cemetery; it was just on the way...but MacCready seemed to be eyeing his rifle curiously. He raised an unseen brow. “What’s up?”

 

The sniper jumped at that, flicking his eyes towards Liam’s face and flushing a bit, as if he hadn’t expected to be caught staring...or hadn’t realized he’d been staring to begin with. “Nothing.” He said that a little too fast to really be convincing. Liam continued to silently look at him, causing MacCready to fidget a bit before he finally relented. “Ok, fine…” He gestured to Liam’s hands. “Where’d that come from?”

 

Liam blinked. “Ah, this?” He smirked down at the sniper rifle in his hands. “Found this beauty back in Natick. Right before we found that deathclaw…” And it had overshadowed the moment of discovery. Almost anyway.

 

MacCready blinked. “Wait. I think I remember seeing… You killed it with that, right?”

 

He nodded. “Sure did.” It had been pretty epic, too.

 

“Huh…” The sniper was still eyeing the rifle with poorly veiled interest.

 

“The scope on it is quite something, too.” Flicking his eyes down to it in quick thought, Liam held it out. “Here, take a look.”

 

MacCready was taken aback for a second, eyes flicking to the blonde’s covered face again. “You sure?” At the nod he received, he went back to eyeing it, as if afraid he wasn’t really allowed. Finally, he tentatively reached out, hefting it to test the weight and balance. His brows went up in interest. “Pretty well maintained for being stored in a trunk in a half-sunken town.” He brought the scope up to his eye, aiming it towards the ghouls...and nearly flinched back in surprise. “What the hell?” He lowered it, looking at them with wide eyes. Looked down at it. Brought it up again. Lowered it. “What the fu--freak is…”

 

Liam chuckled. “Yea, that threw me off the first time I used a recon scope, too.”

 

MacCready blinked, looking at the rifle with a new understanding. “So _this_ is a recon scope. I’d only heard of them. Didn’t think they actually did anything…”

 

“Yep.” Liam held up his pipboy. “And if I link it to my pipboy, I can keep tracking everything it picks up. Hostile or not. Cool, right?”

 

Another blink. “Yea. That does sound cool.”

 

Liam tried not to grin. He flicked his chin towards the rifle in the sniper’s hands. “If you want, I could try to make you a scope like that. I’d just need to take a closer look at that one when I get the chance.”  


“Wait. You can do that?” He sounded eager.

 

The blonde nodded. “Yea, I should be able to. I figured out turrets (with some help, but still), and it can’t be that that different. Gotta have some kind of biometric scanners like the turrets I’ve been setting up around settlements. Why else would it ping living things like that when you scan it over them?”

 

“Can’t say I know much about that…” MacCready trailed off as he went back to eyeing the computer-like scope again.

 

“Not too many people do, I’ve found, which is why I usually get sent out to settlements to set things up.” He gestured towards the rifle the sniper still held, hinting for him to hand it back now. MacCready did so, but with some reluctance. “But yea, I’m sure that with some time, I can replicate this scope. I do have another I could give you instead, but it’s shorter range. I doubt you’d want that.” It was the one currently on his crude pipe sniper. And it was currently locked up in his weapons trunk back in Sanctuary, so there was little good that would do right now.

 

“You don’t...need to do that…”

 

Liam waved him off. “Ehh, it’s no big deal. I help out my friends all the time. Besides, you’re obviously a good shot. It’s not like a high tech scope would be going to waste on you,” he teased, smirk hidden by the mask. “But for now…” he glanced over his shoulder towards the ghoul-infested cemetery at the bottom of the hill they were on. “What say we try to avoid these guys?”

 

\---

 

Somehow, the two of them managed to skirt around Wildwood Cemetery quietly enough to not catch the ghouls’ attention.

 

MacCready mentally breathed a sigh of relief. He could kill ghouls, sure, and had plenty of times, but the less he needed to encounter them, the better.

 

They had briefly stopped in what might’ve been a collapsed church to rifle through an untouched medkit (and taken out a raider that had been sneaking around, who had the gall to yell “Peek-a-boo!” when he’d jumped out at them) and kept going until they hit a road again. Of course, Liam wanted to go digging through a bus on the side of said road, too, so MacCready rolled his eyes and stood watch while the blonde did that. He was never made to carry any of the junk they found, and Liam did do impressive things with it (though he wouldn’t admit it out loud), so he figured he might as well humor the guy’s weird habit.

 

“So…” Liam’s voice drifted from somewhere inside the bus, sounding a bit hesitant. “I’ve been meaning to ask…” He appeared at the top of the short stairway as MacCready glanced over his shoulder into the darkened interior. “I couldn’t help noticing that you seem to...freeze up around ghouls…” The sniper tensed at the words. “Yea. Like that. Is there a reason for it? Something specific I mean. Or is it more of a general dislike for the freaky ‘no longer human things’?”

 

All at once, MacCready was on the defensive. “It’s nothing. Just--” he paused, reluctant to say anything more. Deflating with a sigh, he reached to grasp for the figure hidden in his pocket. “They just...bring up bad memories…”

 

Liam stared for a moment, that gas mask silently regarding him in that way that made him wonder if he was being judged. But then it slid away, just as silent. “Yea...I hear you…” The blonde muttered, shaking his head. “Say no more. _Anyway,_ ” his voice perked up, obviously changing the subject. (The sniper was ok with this.) He brought up his pipboy, considering it as he continued. “Seems this road travels north and south, and where we’re going is basically dead east, but…” he craned his head to regard the way ahead, the rockiness visible even over the roof of the bus. “It doesn’t look like we’d have a very easy time of it. Might wanna stick to the road and turn when we can. So the question is...north or south?”

 

“...you’re asking me this?”

 

Liam shrugged. “I haven’t gone either way before,” he admitted. “Not in this century anyway. I have no idea what’s in either direction, so it’s basically like flipping a coin. Or cap, in this instance.”

 

MacCready frowned, silently mulling over the choice. “Which one looks shorter?”

 

The pipboy was raised again so Liam could study the map. “Hmm…” He tapped at the screen, probably zooming in on their location or something. “They’re...pretty equal, honestly. North looks like it’ll take us in the direction of somewhere I _have_ been before though, so I do somewhat know that area.”

 

“Alright, sounds…” he trailed off, spotting something over Liam’s shoulder. “...shi--” he barely kept the swear from leaving.

 

The blonde looked up, concern evident in his voice. “What?”

 

MacCready could only stare as the air left his lungs.

 

_“What?”_

 

Heart hammering in his ears, he managed to point past Liam, who turned to follow his gaze.

 

And also froze as he saw it.

 

Deathclaw.

 

Stepping out onto the road.

 

Raising its head to lick at the air.

 

Liam voiced the sniper’s held back sentiments.

 

“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't going to end on a cliffhanger. So of course it ends on a cliffhanger.  
> Blame that last scene for refusing to wrap up as quickly as I wanted it to.  
> Also blame the deathclaw that randomly walked out into the road on my way towards what I would discover to be a downed plane. =D So yes. It's that area.  
> (It actually spawned behind us and started walking the other way down the road, but of course that meant I had to go after it before it left. And for some reason, I found a plunger on its corpse.)


	36. Public Transportation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title is because...well, you'll see.  
> And I know this isn't very long, but it felt like a good place to stop. Otherwise, it might not have been posted on time. =P

A hand shot out to grip his shoulder almost painfully.

 

The next thing MacCready knew, he was shoved bodily into the bus, the old door being pulled shut behind them as Liam practically loomed over him with a harshly whispered,  _ “Don’t make a sound.” _

 

A little difficult to follow after having what little air left in your lungs knocked out and them wanting to regain it with a painful wheeze.

 

He stayed still as he regained his wits, though, Liam moving quietly in a crouched position to the head of the bus to look out the cracked windshield.

 

“I’m not sure if it’s seen us,” he whispered as MacCready managed to fill his lungs again. “It’s still sniffing the air.”

 

The sniper sat up slowly, trying to see past Liam. He couldn’t see jack shi--anything past him in the narrow space, though, so quickly gave up, turning to eye the barely shut door. “I don’t like the idea of staying in here…”

 

The blonde huffed quietly, still looking ahead. “I don’t either, but it’s the only cover we have right now. ...hold on.” He paused, leaning towards the glass more, prompting MacCready’s curiosity.

 

“What?” He carefully--though not quite managing the same cat-like silence as the blonde, it was a noble effort--shuffled his way forward in the bus, coming up behind Liam to attempt to see over his shoulder.

 

“It’s starting to move away.”

 

MacCready blinked, leaning to see past the blonde’s shoulder.

 

The mass of scales and anger (aka deathclaw) was indeed starting to plod its way up the road, heading away from the bus. Opposite of where they were heading, too, which was lucky. If they were patient and waited, then maybe they could avoi--

 

He heard a click as Liam raised his sniper rifle.

 

MacCready tensed, hissing, “What are you doing?”

 

“I don’t like the idea of leaving it wandering around out there,” was the mumbled response.

 

He flicked his eyes towards it, seeing the beast was still continuing to move away, if at a slow pace. “Yea, but…” he trailed off, not knowing how to argue against that. True that it was dangerous to leave any claw roaming about. But the reason for that was also the reason not to mess with one: they could fu--tear you up. Anyone who came across one of them was basically signing their death wish. If the last one they’d taken on had been on level ground, he bet they wouldn’t have stood a chance. And this thing…

 

He’d rather not take one on while sitting in a crumbling bus. Yet Liam was aiming through a gap in the windshield, setting his scope at it, and--  _ Fu-- _

 

_ Crack! _

 

Too late.

 

MacCready watched the deathclaw stumble suddenly as a bullet tore into the back of a scaly calf. The hairs on his neck rose as it let loose an angry roar of pain, lashing out to search for whatever dared to injure it.

 

Was Liam crazy?!

 

Without thinking, the sniper readied his own rifle, disabling the safety with practiced ease and setting his target in his sights.

 

Liam managed to fire off a few more shots as it turned, pinging against the tougher scales of its armored back and side, causing it to whip its head towards the rusted vehicle.

 

But that was the moment MacCready was waiting for.

 

_ Bang! _

 

A fountain of red erupted from a glowing eye. (Define “bloodshot”.)

 

It stumbled almost drunkenly, letting loose a pitiful wail as it wavered, before hitting the ground with a thud.

 

MacCready released the breath he’d been holding, lowering his rifle with hands he wouldn’t allow to shake, as much as they wanted to.

 

Liam stared ahead through the broken windshield, possibly gaping from how silent he was. Finally, he spoke, awe evident in his voice. “Holy shit. Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

 

The sniper just smirked, ignoring how his increased heart rate seemed to jump a bit harder for a second there. Dropping the smirk, he turned serious eyes towards his employer-turned-friend. “Maybe in the future let’s  _ not _ take on every deathclaw we come across, yea?” He’d much rather  _ not _ press his luck the next time one of those things crossed his (or their, rather?) path, thanks.

 

Liam ducked his head almost sheepishly. “Ok, fine. We won’t take on every single one.” But he’d look for an excuse to anyway, MacCready bet. It was hidden there in his voice. Sneaky as the guy was, there was no way he was hiding that. “So, I guess...let’s just loot it and be on our way?”

 

He could get behind that. Annoyed as he was at the unneeded danger they’d been put in, deathclaw leather should fetch a good price.

 

“...plus, I also wonder how many steaks we could get from it…”

 

“...”

 

_ Steaks? _

 

Before he could wrap his head around the concept, Liam was already out the door.

 

\---

 

There was more meat than he could carry.

 

A shame, really, as how often would they come across fresh deathclaw steaks? Liam ended up only taking enough to prepare for a late lunch or dinner, depending on when they could next stop, and a little extra just in case. Might keep longer if cooked, and if not, it was good jerky fodder. What was really odd, though…

 

Liam held up his find.

 

MacCready stared. “...is that a plunger?”

 

“Yea…”

 

“...the hell is a deathclaw doing with a plunger??”

 

_ Well, it wasn’t rescuing princesses. _ Outwardly, he shrugged. “Hell if I know.” Into the pack it went anyway. Straightening up, he turned towards the sniper. “So...north, right?”

 

On they went, no other stealth ‘claws putting a pause to their travels. Though that didn’t mean other things weren’t there to cause a delay.

 

Liam stared at the massive skeleton, where an ensuing battle was drawing to its conclusion beneath the giant frame. The last scavenger fell as the remaining few raiders managed to overpower them, letting out a victory cheer.

 

All this hubbub over a crashed plane. Still, it was loot...and hell if Liam didn’t feel his curiosity pinging as he eyed all those suitcases. And he and MacCready hadn’t been noticed in all the chaos either.

 

He pulled out his new favorite rifle, hearing MacCready let out a soft sigh. Yea yea yea, so he was jumping into another fight that they could probably avoid. But there were only a few raiders, and this was prime loot territory. All those cases to go through; not to mention all that metal. It could be really useful for more turrets, or better yet, bolstering up his power armor. He still needed to work on that more if he wanted to (eventually) survive the Glowing Sea. ...as much as he wasn’t looking forward to that.

 

Didn’t mean he wasn’t going to do it though. If he wanted to rescue Shaun, that scientist’s help was going to be needed. So of course that meant going to one of the worst places in the wasteland.

 

Shaking away his thoughts, Liam took aim.

 

It was over faster than expected. Even adding in the surprise wrench of there being a third raider that popped up out of nowhere.

 

“How did they not figure out where those shots were coming from? I mean,” Liam held up his rifle as he headed for the first set of suitcases in sight, “it’s not like this thing has a suppressor or anything. I still need to get one,” he added as an afterthought to himself.

 

“No idea,” came MacCready’s reply as he trailed along after the blonde. “Most of these guys aren’t exactly right in the head. Might even be missing as many brain cells as a super mutant.”

 

Liam snorted at the jibe. “Heh. Maybe.” He pulled out a bobby pin at the first locked case he stumbled on. It popped open after only a second.

 

There was an appreciative whistle. “Man, you still need to show me how you do that.”

 

He pocketed the bobby pins he found, noting the irony. “It’s not really that hard.” The next case popped open even quicker.

 

“...ok, now you’re just showing off.”

 

Liam smirked. “To be fair, the locks on suitcases were never the most secure.”  _ Huh. Ammo. How the hell did they manage that. _

 

The level of impressed MacCready initially had seemed to go down as he made his way through the cargo hold of the plane. “Good job,” he remarked flatly at what had to be the dozenth case. “But can you do it blindfolded?”

 

“It’s not really about seeing. It’s about feeling.” He glanced over at the silence that received, noticing the stare he was getting. “What?”

 

MacCready just continued to regard him silently with a raised brow.

 

“...ok, tell you what. The next lock we find…” Liam lifted off his gas mask, pulling out a bandana. “I’ll do it blindfolded.” And then, unable to resist, he smirked. “Unless you had something else in mind?”

 

It had the desired effect, causing the sniper to sputter as he turned bright red. “What? No. Don’t be-- _ shut up _ .”

 

Liam snickered, trying not to laugh harder when that earned him a glare. “I’m just kidding, Mac. Relax.” Man, but that reaction had been priceless.

 

MacCready huffed, just short of crossing his arms with a pout. “Whatever.”

 

Trying his best to wipe away any remaining amused expression--though it wasn’t easy--Liam made his way farther into the plane, stepping over tossed around cargo and broken suitcases that had already been picked through. The next lock he came across happened to be a hidden compartment in the belly of the plane. Raising a brow at this, he turned towards the sniper. “So...the challenge was blindfolded. What do you think?” He held up the bandana.

 

MacCready frowned in disbelief, as if he hadn’t expected him to take up the bet. But still, he shrugged. “Sure, if you really wanna.” He did sound curious, though.

 

“Watch my back for a sec then.” Knowing this wouldn’t really affect his skills since he was truthful about it being more about feeling through the lock, Liam tied the bandana around his face anyway, ignoring how silly he felt about this. And...ignoring how this felt like showing off. Except he kind of...wanted to show off a bit. It looked like a tough lock after all.

 

Reaching for it, he carefully lined up a bobby pin and screwdriver, shifting them to feel out the slight movements of the tumblers. It resisted a bit, probably due to time and rust, but after a few adjustments and twists and turns where the pin threatened to break--

 

_ Click. _

 

Liam smirked.

 

He pulled off the bandana again as the door swung open with a rusty  _ crreeeak _ , tossing a smug raise of the brow at the now stunned sniper.

  
  


The blonde shrugged. “Like I said: it’s all about feeling; not seeing.” With that, he turned towards the contents of the compartment, wondering what was so important to hide in a plane.

 

_ Well then… _

 

“In the market for a ten mil? Because we’ve got four of them.” He held up one of the stashed pistols. “Also got the ammo to go with it. There’s even buffout, med-x...hell, we got some rad-x in here, too.”

 

MacCready blinked. “I’m guessing that’s not normal to find on a plane?”

 

“Outside of tv and comic books? No, not really.” He pulled out a piece of paper next, snorting as he examined its writing. “Well, looks like we got ourselves a good old-fashioned smuggling.” It would explain why a few of the passengers managed to sneak some small weaponry in with their luggage. “Says they snuck all this in from Chicago. I think it’s safe to say the recipients won’t mind us taking it.” He glanced inside the compartment, making sure he hadn’t missed anything. “I get the feeling this is what was getting all that attention. Anyway,” he shut the door, ignoring how his knees cracked as he rose from his crouched position to face the sniper again. “Looks like the sun is about to set, and this area seems pretty clear now. How about we find a spot in this old plane that doesn’t look like it’s about to collapse on us and set up camp?”


	37. Distraction, Distraction, and look! Another Distraction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Curiosity of a cat" was turning out to be the perfect way to describe Liam, MacCready was sure of it.

Deathclaw steaks.

 

They were such a rarity due to the danger of how they were obtained that MacCready couldn’t remember the last time he’d had any. If ever.

 

Yet here he was, presented with a good helping of deathclaw, and damn if it wasn’t the best steak he’d ever had.

 

“Not the first deathclaw I’ve cooked up,” Liam suddenly broke the chew-laden silence.

 

MacCready blinked, hurriedly finishing and swallowing his mouthful so he could respond. “Oh?”

 

“Yea.” Liam paused to take a bite of the carrots he’d also cooked up on the side. “There was that one in Concord, from when I met and helped out Preston?” Oh yea, he remembered the blonde mentioning that the first time he’d gone through there with him. And how it had set him on edge until he’d been reassured that there shouldn’t be any more of the huge beasts lurking. That one had apparently been drawn out by the huge fight that had taken place in the historical town. Liam continued as his thoughts churned. “It turned out ok I guess...but I’ve had a lot of practice since then. This one definitely turned out better.” He nodded towards the remaining meat sizzling away on the spit. “So it keeps longer” Liam had explained.

 

_ I don’t know. All the others things you’ve made have turned out pretty damn good. _ He wasn’t going to say that out loud, though. Instead, the sniper hummed his agreement.

 

Liam nodded at that, seeming content enough with the response.

 

They sat in companionable silence with nothing but the crackling of the fire (and the deathclaw) between them until it was time to turn in.

 

It wasn’t until MacCready sat up on watch that he realised he never got to ask about Liam’s gas mask. Mentally holding back a curse--and briefly questioning why he wanted to know about it--he made a note to ask tomorrow if a good time came up.

 

He was curious, damn it. Shut up.

 

\---

 

Liam blinked up at the half-fallen highway.

 

The sun was barely rising, so he’d decided to take a look around while there were still shadows to hide in and see what was ahead of them.

 

Instead, he’d found they were not too far from Tenpines Bluff, the northwards detour having somehow pointed them closer to the settlement, and…right at the foot of the Gunners base they had avoided. Or somewhat close to it anyway. It was almost funny.

 

Surprising that the gunfire from last night hadn’t drawn their attention. But they could probably care less about an old plane (he assumed). Still, though, the fact there was an accessible route up there was already driving his curiosity. Surely it couldn’t hurt to say “hello” followed by a “get the fuck out of here” or a “You’re too close to my settlement. You’re going to have to leave.” It didn’t look  _ too _ big to deal with after all. Definitely no Mass Pike Interchange…

 

He heard scrabbling noises as MacCready half-climbed his way up onto the ridge Liam had found. “What’re you looking at--oh no.” He stopped dead as he spotted the telltale windmills turning lazily atop the highway. “We are not going-- I said I’d follow you across the Commonwealth since that was our deal, but that--” he pointed at the skull symbol glaring out from the highway. “No. Just no.”

 

“Ah, come on. You don’t like the idea of driving another nail into them?” He flicked his head towards the base. “Besides, I can see from here that’s way closer to Tenpines than I thought it was. I don’t like the idea of that.” He was starting to break through; he could tell. Just a few more strands to snap… “And it doesn’t look like it’s  _ that _ big…” Come on...just a bit… Just a few seconds more. Tilt the head a bit…

 

MacCready growled a little. “ _ Fine. _ But this better not take too long.”

 

Liam smirked behind his gas mask.  _ Yes. _ He nodded, gesturing towards the makeshift ramp. “Alright then. I lead, you follow, right?”

 

Rolling his eyes, the sniper nodded, following after the crazy blonde he was probably questioning his reasoning for sticking around with.

 

\---

 

_ Crash! _

 

He watched as Liam took out the spotlight with his silenced pistol, breaking glass the only sound giving them away. They both waited with bated breath, MacCready feeling the hairs rise on the back of his neck as his nerves mounted.

 

_ Buzz. _

 

The telltale sound of a turret standing down was the only sign they’d been sensed somehow. No voices sounding the alarm. That couldn’t be right…

  
He frowned.

 

Liam lowered his pistol slowly, tilting his head a bit. “Odd,” he muttered, keeping his voice down just in case. “I was sure that’d bring a welcoming committee.”

 

MacCready nodded his agreement. “Keep your guard up. They could be playing smart and waiting to ambush us.”

 

Liam nodded back.

 

They crept forward, sticking to the remaining shadows created by sunrise.

 

The chugging of a turret slowly grew louder at their approach. They saw it on a raised platform, surrounded by a few forms. Freezing, they waited.

 

Only the turret continued moving, sweeping its gun barrel back and forth to cover the ramp.

 

MacCready could sense his own frown being mirrored on Liam’s face as the blonde raised up his pistol to take aim.

 

_ Boom! _

 

Metal shrapnel flew as the turret exploded, causing the figures standing around it to topple over and go flying, one even cleanly losing an arm.

 

Mannequins. They were  _ freaking _ mannequins.  _ What the hell? _

 

Liam suddenly snorted, startling MacCready somewhat. “Do Gunners just have a strange relationship with mannequins or something?”

 

Not sure he was getting the joke, the sniper was about to ask--

 

“Who’s there?!”

 

Ah, finally. A sign of life.

 

_ “I am death,” _ Liam whispered back. _ “I come for you.” _

 

...well that wasn’t creepy at all.

 

Readying their rifles, they both took out the surprised Gunner with a couple of shots, running into only a few more--one of which was  _ sleeping _ for crying out loud!--before deeming it clear. It really hadn’t been a big base.

 

“Huh. Guess these guys weren’t morning people?”

 

MacCready snorted. “Rookies is what they were. No experienced Gunner would rely on defenses alone to guard their camp. Especially defenses as weak as theirs were.”

 

Liam looked around, shifting his way towards a lift they could see. “Must not be a main one. This does seem to be in the middle of nowhere.  _ I wonder which way this goes... _ ” he mumbled to himself as he eyed the lift.

 

“Back down, I imagine.” The sniper stepped closer to get a better look at the yellow platform.

 

“I’m not so sure…” The blonde raked his gaze over the cables, turning towards MacCready as he got closer. “Shall we?”

 

With a shrug, they both stepped onto the platform.

 

It went up.

 

Well, fine then.

 

Not like they found much up on the top level anyway. Though Liam did manage to spot a pretty cool-looking laser rifle before he did, and thus laid claim on it. Testing it led to them learning it was a recharging sniper rifle. Could come in handy. After that, there was nothing left to do but head back down and continue on their way.

 

“So…” Liam raised his pipboy to refer to the map. “Maybe heading north was a bad idea. What are your feelings about going cross country again? I know it looks a little rough…” Yea, those rocky outcroppings they were going to have to climb over and around didn’t exactly look fun… “But at this point, fuck it. We’d only be going farther out of our way than we need to if we kept to the road. And we should meet up with it going east if we keep moving.” He tapped at the screen, showing what was ahead. Come to think of it, that was looking a bit familiar…

 

MacCready frowned in thought, thinking he was missing something here. It was really bothering him, too. When Liam stayed silent, he realized he had been expected to comment. Flushing a bit, he cleared his throat. “Fine. Normally roads are safer, but you’re right that it’s going to take us out of our way if we keep following it. Just stay alert,” he pointed out. “I can only watch your back so well when going over rough terrain.”

 

Liam looked at him a moment longer...and nodded.

 

And off they went.

 

...all the while with MacCready trying to puzzle out why those roads on the map had looked so familiar. He was sure he knew them, but it just wasn’t coming to mind yet. Hopefully he’d figure it out in case it was important.

 

\---

 

A giant Mister Handy.

 

Liam blinked, wondering if there was something dirtying the lenses of his gas mask. He rubbed at one experimentally, creating a slight smudge (maybe he really should clean them for real), and continued to stare.

 

He was still looking at a giant Mister Handy. Why was that ringing a few bells?

 

“...is that a giant robot?”

 

“It...looks like it, yea.” So he wasn’t seeing things. Good. Unless MacCready was seeing the same things as he was and they were both going crazy. And would that really be surprising?

 

Liam tilted his head at the sight. “It is on our way, so...maybe we could take a closer look at it?” He didn’t wait for an answer before he was jumping down from the rock he was stood on, barely catching the surprised maybe-protest sounding behind him.

 

_ “General Atomics Galleria remains closed by order of the Director!” _

 

…

 

Wait. He paused in his tracks just as he hit the hard paving of a road.

 

_ “All employees: report suspicious behavior to the Director, IMMEDIATELY.” _

 

That...was a Mister Gutsy voice. And…

 

Slowly turning his head at the sniper’s approach, he said, “I think I know what this is now…”

 

“...something with a robot theme I’m guessing.”

 

He nearly snorted at the sniper’s flat guess. “Yea, pretty much.” He turned back towards the walled off assortment of buildings. “It was talked about in the news a few times. General Atomics wanted to open a shopping center that was entirely run by robots.”

 

MacCready jerked back, flabbergasted. “Wait, seriously? Whose bright idea was that??”

 

He regarded the big archway encompassing the entrance. “Someone who wanted to show off what their robots could do?”

 

There was a scoff. “With their track record, I doubt it was a good idea.”

 

“It wasn’t.” That was one of the reasons it’d been mentioned in the news a few times. “Something about them needing to shut the Galleria down for maintenance. But we know what that really means.”

 

“The robots fu--screwed up.”

 

_ “The Director has sanctioned the use of lethal force against looters.” _

 

Liam pulled out his modified laser rifle. Just to be on the safe side. “Basically.” Unable to fight his curiosity, he cautiously started to approach the front gate.

 

“What’re you--” MacCready called out in disbelief.

 

“I just wanna check it out.”

 

Hopefully this wouldn’t be a bad idea.

 

\---

 

“Welcome to General Atomics Galleria. You must be our new supervisor.”

 

This was already seeming like a bad idea.

 

MacCready stayed a few steps behind Liam, eyeing the robots milling about with a wary eye. He didn’t dare approach any of them, but Liam seemed to have every intention of doing just that, going right up to the robot hanging around the front gate despite knowing what he seemingly did about this place.

 

Was he crazy? Or just really bold?

 

Perhaps a bit of both.

 

All the sniper knew, was that his former boss-turned friend had the curiosity of a cat. They were supposed to be heading towards a settlement that needed assistance in hopes of recruiting them into the lines of the Minutemen, and...while they  _ were _ heading there to do just that, yes, they were also stepping into more curiosities than he’d ever found himself in before. Hell, even his previous employers had a more focused way of working. Each of these places they were going to would’ve been a full day of work for one of those jobs. But this?

 

This place made the third thing they’d stumbled across and wandered into in the last twenty-four hours alone. At this rate, he wondered if they would even reach this place that was supposed to be out east.

 

Taking another glance at the robot Liam was still chatting with--and that decided it wanted to explain the purpose of this shopping center as well as mentioning but not explaining the reason for its being closed--he decided to squint off into the distance, seeing what was ahead in case they headed off soon. He certainly didn’t want to stick around here.

 

Huh. That group of buildings just beyond the lake over there looked familiar somehow… The roads he thought he recognized on the map came to mind again. How far east were they anyway? Or...how far...north…

 

MacCready drew a quick intake of breath.

 

_ Shit. _

 

And Duncan forgive him, he was not going to take back that swear when Duncan was the very reason he’d thought that word in the first place.

 

Malden.

 

_ Med-Tek. _

 

**_Of course._ **

 

“Shit” indeed.

 

Hit with the sudden realization, he completely missed the rest of the conversation going on in front of him. Even when Liam turned towards him and suggest they take a look around, he barely responded with more than a grunt of noncommittal agreement. The blonde’s hidden gaze seemed to linger on him for a moment.

 

“Is...everything ok?”

 

“Huh? Oh. Yea,” he replied, trying to snap himself out of it. But that lingering feeling of being rushed wasn’t going to leave. He didn’t want it to either. Not when he was so close to…

 

But...would he be able to do it this time? Or maybe…

 

He glanced towards Liam again as Liam’s gaze finally slid off of him almost reluctantly.

 

As they started to look around, MacCready stayed distracted, barely following along where his partner was heading.

 

Should he tell him about…? And...would he be able to…?

 

Med-Tek was right there.  _ So close. _ He could almost reach out and touch it...even if it meant risking his arm to the ferals. Again. They’d been too much last time, but with Liam’s help, then maybe…

 

MacCready ground his teeth in frustration, staying back as Liam entered the first few shops (to which the blonde seemed to ok with; apparently he didn’t want to linger in them too long either).

 

Liam had already proven that he could be trusted; that he could be relied on, and that he was willing to help out those in need because it was the right thing to do. Giving a damn, as he’d said.

 

It was risky. Not even a guarantee. But…

 

He looked up in time to see the blonde disappear into the bowling alley.

 

Now might finally be the right time to re-attempt Duncan’s cure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually forgot Med-Tek was coming up until I was going through my videos and the thought hit me. So I found a creative way for MacCready to suddenly think of it, too. Makes more sense than him suddenly going, "Oh hey I should probably tell you..."  
> Ironic that he did that right in this area during my playthrough though...


	38. A Helping Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was right there. Right within reach.  
> Memories of the last time he'd tried still haunted him, but surely with Liam's help, this time he might succeed.  
> He had to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was determined to have this chapter end on a certain point, so it took me until right now to get it done.  
> I hope there's no glaring errors. |D

Liam exited Back Alley Bowling with a bit of haste.

 

And paused, looking around with eyes wide in paranoia.

 

Nothing was coming at him with sharp blades or brazening their flamethrowers. Not even a second glance or deviation from a set path of patrolling the shopping center.

 

Good. They didn’t know then.

 

Now hopefully none of the robots would venture into the bowling alley where they’d find the four he’d left in a mangled wreck.

 

To be fair, how was he supposed to know they’d react as...negatively as they had when he stepped past the front desk without paying? He just wanted to take a look around the counter to see what was going on, but noooo, there was a limit for how far non-paying guests could walk apparently, and they’d screeched at him for “needing to pay first!” as they swung their buzzsaws, and he’d kind of wanted to keep his limbs, so...

 

_ Malfunctioning little… _ No wonder this place had been shut down.

 

Liam looked over to where MacCready was still stood waiting. He frowned in concern. The sniper had been unusually quiet since they’d gotten here, and though he claimed nothing was wrong, it was obvious something was bothering the guy. He wondered if maybe he could help, but...even though they were technically friends now, he really didn’t know that much about him. He was also slow to trust. But Liam was sure that if given enough time, MacCready would open up about what was bothering him. And if he didn’t? Well...he’d figure that out if it came up.

 

For now, he continued making his way through the rest of the shops since he wasn’t sure if he’d be coming back here later.

 

He ended up leaving the diner almost as fast as he’d entered it, the lingering feeling of danger being too strong to shake.

 

He also wasn’t sure how he felt about the robot waiter calling him “sugar”.

 

...though to be fair, that was probably more tolerable--and less hazardous to his health--than the demonstration he’d apparently walked in just in time for. Liam found himself taking a step back as each of the Mister Handys being shown off blew up or fell apart one after the other as the one doing the demonstration touted the “handiness of owning such a model” and the “long-lasting reliability of their most recent models”. These were certainly no Codsworths, that was for sure. In fact, it was looking like he’d gotten lucky when it came to Codsworth. That old bot had actually gotten  _ better _ with age; acted more like he was human half the time. Not that Liam minded; until he rescued Shaun, he was the only family he had left--

 

“Now, if you’ll bring your attention over here, we have our latest Mr. Gutsy model--”

 

Talk about a quick way to end depressing thoughts.

 

That was the line of “I’ve had enough” as Liam’s slow and subtle exit turned into a hasty retreat, speed-walking away as the rantings of finding those “Commie bastards” started up behind him.

 

He beelined for the startled sniper, giving no more than a quick “we’re out of here” and “don’t look back; just run!” as he snatched MacCready by the arm, pulling him into a mad dash alongside him, not even using the front gate. Just scrambling over the rocky terrain surrounding the place, running alongside the road until they were far enough away that it didn’t look like they were being chased.

 

Liam was about to pause to double-check if it was clear--just as they almost stumbled across a radscorpion--and nearly had a heart attack in the process which Liam wasn’t entirely sure  _ wasn’t _ a heart attack in progress by the time the thing was dead as it had gotten  _ way _ too close to stinging them multiple times.

 

And then of course a startled giant lobster thing--which he later learned was a type of mirelurk--had started belching  _ acid _ at them of all things since they’d apparently caught its attention as they’d rushed past where it had been resting alongside the road. The giant rock they’d ended up retreating to to fight it from at a bit of a vantage point was now steaming in places where the green sludge began to eat through it. Who knew what that would’ve done to armor or even skin if it’d managed to directly hit. The fumes were bad enough. Liam was very grateful for his gas mask right now. He turned towards MacCready as they both caught their breath. He seemed unscathed as well; just winded and understandably less distracted than he’d been acting back at General Atomics.

 

Liam frowned. He still wondered about that, contemplating asking if everything was alright to see if that might trigger something--

 

Hold on. Someone was jogging down the street towards them, coming from--he checked the map, seeing a familiar marker he’d made when searching the area some time ago--the direction of Malden.

 

His brow furrowed as they drew closer, a look of desperation crossing their face as--he could finally tell now as they were close enough--the young man spotted the two of them.

 

Sparing MacCready a glance, Liam hopped from the rock, keeping his rifle in hand--if only to appease the suspicious sniper--just as the oddly dressed stranger came nearer. What were they even wearing? Some kind of jumpsuit? That wasn’t a vault suit. For starters, it was mostly white, and there was a symbol on the upper chest that seemed familiar but at the same time, not.

 

“Excuse me,” the young man asked as he finally stopped, sounding out of breath. “Would you happen to know the way to Bunker Hill?”

 

Liam blinked. “Um. Yea, I do. Why do you need to know?”

 

“I can’t divulge my reasons, but I need to get there urgently.” His eyes were darting around nervously as he explained himself, as if he realized how out in the open they were. “Please, if you could tell me, I’ll be on my way.”

 

_ Ok then… _ He tilted his head at the stranger, finding this rather odd...but he also seemed pretty harmless. Was he even armed? Didn’t look like it. Where the hell had he even come from? Maybe he really  _ had _ popped out of a vault and it’d been extremely recent if how unprepared he looked was any indication.

 

Deeming the guy not an actual danger and hoping the wall he’d spotted around Bunker Hill when he’d been in that area meant they were well-equipped to deal with this stranger if it turned out he  _ was _ dangerous...Liam extended an arm to point down the street. “South until you hit the Charles River, then head east. It’ll be the plain white pylon standing above everything there. It’s pretty hard to miss.” Also amazing that it was still standing as tall.

 

The young man nodded, hope and gratitude now shining brightly in his eyes. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” And with that, he was running again, this time in the direction the blonde had indicated.

 

What an odd guy. Liam realized too late he’d forgotten to ask for his name. He turned back towards the sniper. “Well, that was weird. Did I tell you about the time Dogmeat and I saved a random scavenger from mole rats? ‘Cause I’m not sure if that was the weirdest thing anymore.” It had also been right before he’d picked up that signal in Cambridge and run to a Brotherhood patrol’s rescue. Was his life just a series of running to people’s aid? It was starting to feel that way.

 

Not that he minded.

 

\---

 

He stared after the retreating form.

 

Here they were, just coming off the high of fighting for their own lives, still on the way towards a settlement of people in need who might very well have their own lives in danger…

 

And yet Liam was willing to give a hand to a random stranger on the street. Not knowing anything about them--if they were armed, if they were a danger, if their intentions were even anything but bad...yet he’d sent the guy on his way to where he’d asked about without question. (Nevermind that Liam had known exactly which direction to point him in.)

 

How could he trust so easily?

 

“Are you sure that was a good idea?” he asked as they started down the street, this time following it as it curved towards their destination that Liam deemed should be close now. As well as near something else that had MacCready’s heart pounding in anticipation again. He ignored it for now, debating on when to bring that up.

 

“Hm?” Liam glanced at him over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

 

“That guy back there.” Wasn’t it obvious what he meant? “Was it smart to just tell him like that? Bunker Hill is a settlement, too. They’re pretty...well, they’re self-sufficient and an odd bunch--” To put it lightly… “--but you go around helping settlements. Is it really smart to send a random person that could be dangerous to one like that without even questioning their motives?”

 

He got a shrug in response that almost looked sheepish. “Hey, he needed help...and I happened to be able to give it. Besides, did you see his eyes? He’s practically a kid scared out of his mind. Hell…” Liam turned to look down the street where the stranger had disappeared. “I might’ve even offered to escort him with how freaked out he looked. Except he ran off too fast for me to say anything...” He trailed off, shaking his head, starting to continue down the road they needed as he muttered one last comment. “Or at least offer him a weapon…”

 

MacCready had nothing else to say to that, so instead, he glanced down that road as well. South. The same way to Med-Tek. He had to bring it up. He just had to.

 

Before he lost his chance.

 

\---

 

Greentop turned out to be fitting of its name.

 

It sat atop a small hill, a rather rundown house on one end with some worn dirt leading over towards a sizeable greenhouse on the other. It reminded Liam of Graygarden in a way. Except without the robots. But still, it was a farm. A good-sized farm with ample crops despite the low population. If he could convince them to join the Minutemen…well...it would be a real boon.

 

But his thoughts were getting ahead of him. He needed to find out the problem they needed aid with first.

 

It turned out  _ not _ to have anything to do with the deathclaw living at the bottom of the nearby sinkhole (Correction:  _ formerly _ living, as Liam had decided to take a few crack shots at it and he and Mac had both needed to fire in a panic to take it down before it could scramble up to reach them. He’d gotten a decent-looking combat rifle out of it though, having found the remnants of an old camp down at the bottom.). No. It was raiders.

 

Because  _ of course _ it was raiders.

 

Coming from a place out east apparently. The settlers had a pretty good idea of where, too, even suggesting an exact location. Apparently their “visits” had been often enough that they’d been able to trace the scum back to their lair.

 

Liam looked at his pipboy, studying the map to decide on the best way to travel to this “Dunwich Borers”. It was a prewar quarry--one he’d never heard of--but that should make it easy enough to spot. There were almost always big cut blocks of white stone surrounding quarries. They could probably even just head directly east cross country if they wanted. Might need to when they got close anyway. It was even a stone’s (heh) throw to the Museum of Witchcraft. He forgot why exactly that was marked on his map, but apparently it’d been enough of a curiosity at the time for him to do so. He had missed his opportunity to visit it in the past, too. And then another of the police stations they could find one of Winter’s holotapes wasn’t too far off eith--

 

“Hey…”

 

Liam’s thoughts came to a halt as he looked up to the face of MacCready. Huh. He hadn’t even heard his approach. That wasn’t good.

 

Feeling a blush coming on that he was glad was hidden, the blonde cleared his throat, dropping the pipboy to give the (unsure and nervous, he noticed) sniper his undivided attention. “What’s up?”

 

“So uh…” MacCready trailed off with a frown, gaze sliding away for a second in his indecision.

 

Liam tilted his head. “Is something wrong?”

 

“No! I mean--yes. Um--”

 

The blonde frowned a little, and glanced over towards the two settlers who were tending to their crops. They were shooting small looks their way from time to time, and while they were probably far enough away not to overhear…

 

He flicked his head towards the side of the house he was leaning against. “C’mon. Let’s continue this conversation in private…” Where they were less likely to be eavesdropped.

 

MacCready took a breath to regain control of himself, nodding. “Ok, yea…”

 

Once they had relocated to a clear area at the back of the house--hopefully away from any settlers’ prying eyes or ears--he turned towards the sniper again.

 

He waited patiently as it took a moment for MacCready to find a good starting point before he finally spoke. “So uh...I never got to properly thank you for helping me take out Winlocke and Barnes.”

 

Liam blinked, sure that wasn’t what the sniper had planned to talk about. But he honestly didn’t know  _ what _ was on in the guy’s mind, so… “You already thanked me. Besides, we’re friends, right? And I always help out my friends when they need it.”

 

That seemed to spark something in MacCready’s eyes. “Well...I wanted to say it anyway. Not many people out there willing to stick their neck out for me like that. And I don’t forget shi--agh. I mean... _ things _ like that.”

 

The blonde raised a brow. “Ok, I need to ask. That’s not the first time you’ve cut off a swear. Why do you always do that?”

 

MacCready sighed. “Yea, I figured you’d ask about that at some point. It’s...a promise I made to someone. Someone back home.”

 

Ah. “Someone close to you I take it?” And why was he feeling a tinge of-- _ No, shoo. Go away. _

 

“Something like that…” The sniper trailed off, looking at the ground for awhile as if in debate with himself. Finally, he looked up again. “When I left the Capital Wasteland, I didn’t just leave Little Lamplight behind. I left my family behind, too.”

 

Liam felt his brows jump, but stayed quiet, listening.

 

“Had a beautiful wife named Lucy”--Liam fought his intake of breath, forcing himself to keep quietly listening--“...and a son. Duncan. He’s the one I made my promise to. I promised to clean up my act and to be a better person. I guess that sounds pretty stupid coming from a guy who shoots people for a living.”

 

“I...don’t know what to say.” Or nothing constructive anyway. How do you react when finding out out of nowhere that someone has a wife and kid?

 

MacCready scoffed. “Sure you do. You wanna tell me how fu--messed up it was for me to leave them behind like that.” As fast as it had flared, the small uprising of annoyance dissipated. “My son…he’s...he’s really sick.” Liam didn’t fight the intake of breath this time. “And I don’t know what’s wrong with him. One day he was just playing out in the fields behind our farm and...the next he’s got this really high fever and blue boils are popping up all over his body. No one could figure out what it was. I  _ had _ to go find a cure.” He took a moment to regain control of himself again. Liam didn’t miss the shimmering to his eyes. “Last time I saw him, he was almost too weak to walk. Honestly, I’m not sure how much longer he’s got…”

 

Liam drew and released a shaky breath. “There must be something we can do.” There had to be. No kid deserved a fate like that. If it had been him in that position, then…

 

Hell, in an eerily similar way, he was.

 

MacCready seemed to deflate in a relieved sigh, a slight (and somewhat watery) smile tweaking the corners of his mouth. “I was hoping you’d say that…

 

“So there’s this place I was told about, called Med-Tek Research.  It’s not far from here actually…”

 

\---

 

He could hardly believe it.

 

Months of not knowing if he would ever pull this off. Not knowing if he would ever conquer Med-Tek and find the cure to Duncan’s mysterious disease…

 

_ “If there’s a cure, we’ll find it.” _

 

...and Liam had agreed to help.

 

Hell, had pretty much taken the lead on it without even needing to be asked to.

 

MacCready had explained about this guy Sinclair he had met, who had a friend who had also caught that strange disease, and in doing his own research, learned that there might be a cure. He had all the access codes needed to get into the place; take out the lockdown it’d been in since before the war. Except Sinclair had lost his chance to get the cure himself, as his partner had died before he could try. But that didn’t mean MacCready hadn’t tried.

 

And been completely overwhelmed by the ferals guarding its door.

 

He tried not to shudder at the thought as they walked on. He needed to keep his wits about him if they were going to pull this off. Especially since the sun had finally set before they’d headed out and it was getting pitch dark by the second...

 

Liam had just looked at him, lifted off his mask to reveal the serious frown he wore, and said,

 

_ “Fuck the dark. We’ll deal.” _

 

He couldn’t argue with that even if he had wanted to.

 

And there was no way in hell he wanted to.

 

He had to do this.

 

_ They  _ had to do this.

 

No one had given this much of a damn about MacCready before.

 

_ Even if it takes me the rest of my life, I’ll repay this debt to you. _

 

_ I swear it. _


	39. "Let's do this"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is shorter than usual because sometimes that just happens. Annnd I didn't get to do as much writing this week as I would've liked but wanted to have it posted on time. |D; It seemed like a good stopping point for the chapter, too.

Med-Tek loomed up out of nowhere in the darkness.

 

...ok, so maybe not out of nowhere.

 

More like, they’d ended up taking a...less direct route, and ended up finding the building’s back wall.

 

Yes Liam’s sense of direction had sucked again.

 

Shut up.

 

And never mind that he only knew it was Med-Tek because his pipboy had told him.

 

Again, shut up.

 

Sticking close to the wall, they followed it around, Liam instinctively falling into “stealth mode” as he heard MacCready crunching along behind him a little louder than he’d like. Not wanting to criticize, he pressed onward, finally rounding the corner to the front of the building to lean carefully lean around the dumpster there.

 

A parking garage greeted him. Seemed quiet enough, but Liam had this...creeping feeling raising the hairs on the back of his neck.

 

_ “Grah…” _

 

_ Shit. _

 

The wet slap and crawling of feral ghouls coming to life echoed from the dark.

 

Liam readied his rifle as the first set of glowing eyes came into sight.  _ Here we go. _

 

\---

 

That had been...easier than he’d expected.

 

The ghouls had charged like the last time he’d been here (though that time he’d come from the front entrance rather than circling around the back a la Liam’s shi--crappy sense of direction), but this time they hadn’t gotten the chance to tear into flesh. Rather, they’d been torn into by bullets.

 

MacCready was ok with this.

 

Already, telling Liam about his need to conquer Med-Tek was proving positive. Maybe he really did stand a chance this time.

 

But he was getting ahead of himself. They still needed to find the cure, and since Med-Tek had been in a lockdown state for two centuries, who knew what it would be like inside?

 

Liam popped off one last ghoul lingering by the front door that had been too mesmerized by an oddly still-burning fire barrel to notice them. He turned towards the sniper.

 

MacCready took a second to realize he was waiting on him to take the lead. Drawing a breath that hopefully wasn’t too shaky, he steeled himself, releasing the breath again. “Right... I hope Sinclair’s information pays off… Let’s head inside and grab that cure.”

 

Liam nodded.

 

And together they pushed open the front door.

 

_ Let’s do this. _

 

\--

 

It was quiet.

 

Pretty dusty too.

 

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected honestly. Since MacCready had mentioned the place needing codes to disable a lockdown, maybe some sort of security system greeting them? A couple of turrets? A haywire protectron or Mister Handy maybe?

 

Not this odd stillness to the air that had the hairs on his neck rising up more than the waking of the ghouls had. The whole place honestly felt like it was waiting for something.

 

_ Waiting for us maybe? _

 

Liam snorted to himself. That was just silly. He’d been in enough of these buildings to know that some were just quieter than others. Plus, this was a medical research facility, and anything of that nature--a hospital for example--was always creepy. Period.

 

He turned towards the sniper. This was his mission after all, even if Liam had fallen into the habit of taking the lead.  _ Can’t kick the Corporal out of O’Keeffe. _ “So...where to?” He kept his voice to almost a whisper, not wanting to disturb the odd tension this place carried.

 

MacCready was eyeing the place with unveiled apprehension. Seemed he wasn’t the only one getting eerie vibe here. “Sinclair mentioned a terminal for overriding the lockdown. Should be in the executive’s office, so…” He flicked his head towards the ceiling. “Up I guess.”

 

Liam nodded, edging forward carefully through the darkness. It was tempting to turn on his pipboy for a bit of light so they wouldn’t stumble over something, but that was probably a bad idea. Even if there did seem to be a lot of rubble from what little he could see. Was that a fallen statue over there?

 

A familiar humming drew his attention.

 

A terminal.

 

Obviously not the one they needed since it was in the front lobby, but still, it was information, and information was always valuable. He’d learned that all too well…

 

Shaking off memories before they could claw their way in, Liam stepped towards the desk, glancing at the screen curiously before tapping away at the keys.

 

There was only one entry on it, and it mentioned the lockdown.

 

_...“security lockdown in effect”...“containment lockdown”...“use of deadly force authorized”... _

 

_ Well that’s lovely. _

 

Definitely a reason to keep their guard up then. Images of robots and turrets were a real possibility here.

 

Picking up his rifle again, Liam pressed onward, rejoining an (understandably) impatient MacCready.

 

It was still really quiet. Too much for his liking.

 

A side door caught his attention. Since he didn’t know the layout, any door could lead to where they needed. This was the time to be thorough. Finding it locked, a quick use of a bobby pin got them inside. Unfortunately it was just a security office. Biting back his disappointment--and seeing it reflected in the sniper’s eyes--he pressed forward again.

 

An elevator caught his attention. Probably fruitless, and--yep. It was indeed fruitless. No response to his button press.

 

“Hey.”

 

Liam glanced over, seeing MacCready waving for his attention to what he was staring at. He hurried to catch up, finding him looking through a set of glass windows that blocked off a corridor with a sort of arch in it that looked like it sprayed. He frowned curiously as the sniper tapped at a nearby keyboard, running his eyes over the lines of text that came up. Face set, he nodded, stepping back again.

 

“This is it. The place we’re trying to get into.”

 

Liam stared at him for a moment longer, turning his gaze back towards the airlock. “You mean the cure should be in there?” At the nod he received, he continued, tilting his head speculatively. “Think it’s safe to break the seal? That whatever caused the lockdown is no longer a threat?”

 

“I--” MacCready grit his teeth. “It doesn’t matter. I  _ have _ to get in there. Duncan can’t wait any longer.”

 

The blonde pressed his lips into a thin line at the conviction thrumming through those words. Felt it as if they were his own. He nodded. “Let’s find the stairs then.”

 

\---

 

Ghouls.

 

A lot of ghouls.

 

MacCready had to swallow back the urge to shrink back each time they charged, even as they got too close for his liking. Hell, one got close to taking Liam’s arm off. He’d barely gotten his shot off in time to keep that thing away, the blonde finishing it off with a point blank bullet to the brain.

 

If this kept up…

 

He shook himself.  _ Keep it together, MacCready. You need to get through this. Duncan is counting on you. And you’ve got backup. You’ll make it. But you gotta be  _ his _ backup, too. _

 

Because that was what partners did. Watched each others’ backs.

 

_ “Besides, we’re friends, right?” _

 

Friends.

 

_ “And I always help out my friends when they need it.” _

 

They were friends.

 

He hadn’t had one of those in a long time.

 

_ He wasn’t going to lose anyone else. _

 

MacCready raised his rifle just as the next ghoul charged, a guttural growl gargling from its throat.

 

_ We’ve got this. _

 

“ _ Bluaarrggghhh _ \--shut up!” He mocked, before firing.

 

The rest of the ghouls didn’t stand a chance.

 

\---

 

Liam caught his breath as he looked down at the ghoul that lay dead at their feet. If getting up here had been a challenge, he didn’t look forward to downstairs. Not that he wasn’t still going down there. Just that he didn’t have to like it.

 

But finally. This looked like the executive’s office. It was on the highest floor, separated off from the rest, and also was the only room that had a secretary’s desk outside of it. The terminal also still looked to be in working order.

 

MacCready rushed past him eagerly. “This has gotta be it.” He pulled out a scrap of a paper as he neared it, unfolding it as he went. “Sinclair’s password better work, or we’re screwed…”

 

Liam watched with bated breath as he typed furiously at the keyboard. The seconds seemed to last an eternity as the sniper scrolled through lines of text, finally hitting “enter” with certainty.

 

They both heard a loud click and a hiss of air being released somewhere below.

 

MacCready leaned back from the terminal, facing him with disbelief. “I think it worked…” An amazed smile lit up the edges of his face.

 

Liam felt himself starting to reflect the expression, still hidden beneath his mask of course. He nodded. “Let’s go check the airlock.”

 

The sniper nodded, already leading the way.

 

Almost there.

 

\---

 

The doors slid open without a fuss.

 

Liam and MacCready turned to face each other, the blonde lifting up his gas mask as he did so.

 

They both nodded with determination.

 

“Let’s do this.”

 

And stepped through the now open airlock.


	40. Alternate Routes

The moment they stepped through the doors, something immediately wasn’t right.

 

A metallic “swish” drew Liam’s attention upward.

 

His eyes widened--

 

_ Shit. _

 

\--and just barely managed to shove MacCready behind a nearby desk, diving down after him as the red beams of a laser turret scorched the spot where they’d just been standing.

 

Seemed that disabling the lockdown didn’t mean the security would be disabled, too.

 

_ Let’s hope I’m wrong about the Protectrons and Handys. _

 

On the bright side--

 

The ceiling mounted turrets exploded from a few well-placed shots.

 

\--he couldn’t hear any robots.

 

The downside--

 

\--a quick scurrying of wet slapping feet and frantic shrieks and snarls--

 

\--the explosions stirred up the “survivors”.

 

Liam saw from the corner of his eye the sniper tensing up again (What kind of “bad memories” did they stir up? And did he really want to know?) as the guttural noises of ghouls drew near, amplified by and bouncing off walls. “Hey,” he called out softly.

 

MacCready almost jumped a mile as that drew his attention, turning unblinking eyes towards the blonde.

 

Putting as much confidence into his voice as he could muster, Liam continued now that he had his attention, “We took on Gunners, we’ve taken out deathclaws… A couple of ghouls are nothing compared to that. We’ve got this.”

 

That seemed to do the trick. A little at least. MacCready’s eyes widened...before setting into a determined expression, his mouth a serious frown. He nodded.

 

Maintaining his cool as the shrieks of ghouls grew nearer, Liam nodded back.

 

Rifles ready, they jumped into the fray as it came to meet them.

 

\---

 

The fu--frick?

 

The terminal in the executive’s office had mentioned there being volunteers from when they were testing out the drug they were developing, but…

 

MacCready flinched back instinctively as the rotted face and claws slammed into the glass in front of him, smearing it with some sort of greenish liquid that made his skin crawl just from looking at it.

 

Had they been keeping people here against their will??

 

They’d fought their way here through twists and turns and fallen rubble, MacCready growing increasingly anxious at each blocked corridor...until Liam somehow managed to find an area they could squeeze through to continue on. It would almost be claustrophobic if he hadn’t been used to smaller spaces from literally growing up in a cave. But they’d been able to keep going--closer to the cure, he hoped--farther into the research wing.

 

There had been plenty of opposition along the way, too. The brainless and ravenous shells of what had to be scientists and researchers who hadn’t been able to get out before the lockdown had taken effect. It still freaked him out how they could go from looking dead to “coming back to life” at the first sign of anything not a fellow ghoul.

 

“Looks like we go down from here.”

 

MacCready forced himself to turn away from the creature that was trying to gnaw its way through the thick glass--to no success--to see what Liam was referring to.

 

There was an elevator.

 

And it was powered.

 

He nearly jumped a mile into the air as the ghoul slammed itself into the glass. Still trying to reach him. He clutched his rifle tighter instinctively. “What about... _ them _ ?” He glanced towards the other occupied cell--for what else could it be?--in the room.

 

Liam looked back and forth between the two holding rooms. “I don’t think they’re getting out of there. See that?” He gestured with his own rifle. “Terminals. Bet those control the doors. Normally I might wanna let them out”--MacCready cringed.--“and put them out of their misery. But...even if the diseases they were working with in here are dormant, I’m not sure I wanna chance breaking any more seals if we don’t have to.”

 

_ Slam SLAM-- _

 

MacCready forced himself to back away from the glass, unnerved. “I...guess.”

 

“Do you really wanna let them out?”

 

“No!” He might’ve answered a little more frantically than he planned to. Luckily, Liam only nodded, and didn’t comment.

 

“Then let’s just…” he nodded towards the elevator. “...keep going. Like I said, it doesn’t look like they’re getting out of there on their own. That glass is too thick. I might come back later to deal with them, but right now they’re not important. Your boy is.”

 

He didn’t need to be reminded of that.

 

But those words got him moving again, straightening his spine as he marched with purpose towards the elevator, hitting the call button himself. The cure wasn’t in this room, so it had to be farther down. Med-Tek definitely had been working on something. The exec’s terminal had confirmed it. There had been entries about an experimental drug called “Prevent”.

 

There were also worrying side effects listed among the test groups.

 

But honestly, at this point, those were better to risk than not trying at all and losing Duncan anyway.

 

The sniper released a breath as the elevator dinged and its doors opened. He pushed away those thoughts as they boarded.

 

Just as the closing doors pushed away the growls of the still-trapped ghouls.

 

\---

 

Two ways. Two choices. Probably only one actually continued on, but the question was which. As Liam considered the two hallways, another thing was pretty obvious, even with the mask over his face...

 

“Ugh. Smells horrible down here. The sooner we find that cure the sooner we can leave this hell.”

 

No kidding.

 

_...oh. _ Liam started, turning towards the sniper. “It might not be smart to breathe the air down here. I might have a spare gas mask on me if you want.”

 

MacCready paused to consider this for a moment, crinkled nose smoothing a bit into a frown of thought. Finally, he shook his head. “Nah, I’d rather not limit my vision like that. Besides, I’ve already been breathing in whatever crap is in the air here. Not like it’d make much difference now. ...thanks, though,” he added on with a nod.

 

Liam studied him carefully, nodding as well. Hopefully it had been long enough that his worry was for nothing. Maybe that smell was just...rot or something. From ghouls maybe. Choosing the path to the right and starting to walk down it, he considered removing his own mask so he wouldn’t leave his friend suffering alone if it turned out to be harmful. ...but that was just stupid and he knew it. If the air  _ was _ bad, then one of them should stay safe in case the other got sick, right? That way they could still get out of here instead of them both stumbling, or mutating, or whatever it might do.

 

_ Shiff-- _

 

_ Huh? _

 

He looked up, about to step through the doorway he’d come across, seeing what had made that metal shift noise--

 

_ Oh shit-- _

 

Liam pulled back in time for a rain of bullets to pepper the floor he’d been standing on.

 

_ Here we go again apparently… _

 

“You really need to pay better attention,” MacCready commented after the second turret fell from the ceiling from a well-placed bullet.

 

Liam huffed, not saying anything. Yes. Fine. He hadn’t been paying attention. Although now he did hear something…

 

Lowering his rifle and stepping back further through the doorway, he frowned, straining his ears.

 

_ “Rrrr…” _

 

_ “Grah...” _

 

Wet foot slap--

 

_ Shit. _

 

Liam did a quick sweep of his eyes across the room. Well, this was pleasant.

 

MacCready frowned at him as he joined him, also turning towards the noises he could hear. His eyes widened as he stepped deeper into the large space, towards one of the walls.

 

One of the cells lining the two floors of this room.

 

And jumped back immediately as a form slammed itself into the glass in a horrifying display of deja vu.

 

Ghouls.

 

_ More test subjects. _

 

And by the looks of things, Med-Tek had been keeping a lot of them.

 

“Holy crap…” The sniper turned wide eyes towards the blonde.

 

Liam looked across the room again, taking a breath as he walked further into this display of how far science and medicine had chosen to go. For the sake of humanity or some crap like that. He wasn’t sure if it was good or bad that these people were so far gone due to going feral ghoul that they couldn’t remember what they must’ve gone through as Med-Tek did their research. He should put them all down right now. End their miserable existence. But there were a lot of them, and they didn’t have time to waste. He wasn’t sure exactly how long MacCready’s son had been waiting, getting slowly sicker as time went by...but every second they took was another second he was waiting. Barely holding out.

 

_ “Honestly, I’m not sure how long he’s got left…” _

 

He turned towards the sniper, gesturing towards the stairs he could see. “Come on. Let’s try to find our way down. There’s gotta be a lab around here somewhere…”

 

Just as he suspected, the bottom floor was more of the same. Another set of cells. Another set of former test subjects. A few of the little rooms were empty, though, so that was some form of comfort he supposed.

 

MacCready stuck close to him as they went, gripping his rifle a little tighter than necessary. But he couldn’t blame the guy. Hell, he’d held up pretty well so far, going through all the ghouls they had. Whatever had happened in the past, he was damn brave going through this hell as far as he had without stopping. Even Liam was feeling shaken by everything.

 

Finally, they found another set of stairs leading downward…

 

...and were stopped by a pile of rubble.

 

Caved in ceiling. No way around.

 

“...you’re shi--kidding me.”

 

Liam stared in mild disbelief at the debris littering the stairwell. It was wedged pretty well, he’d give it that. Had to be more than one floor’s worth of ceiling and floor tiles; not to mention plaster, drywall, metal frame--oh, and a filing cabinet, too. No way they were moving all that crap.

 

Didn’t stop MacCready from stumbling up to it, though, eyes widened as he looked at it frantically like what he was seeing had to be an illusion.

 

“We’ve come so far. This is…” He started pushing at a piece of fallen wall as if he could dislodge it enough to squeeze through. “We can’t turn back now!”

 

Liam took a moment to register what the sniper was doing, realizing after a minute that he really was attempting to clear the path on his own. His brow crinkled. “Hey…”

 

“If we can just--move this enough to--” MacCready grunted as he shoved at the wedged pieces, the rubble barely shifting.

 

Liam took a step closer. “Hey.”

 

“Just gotta--get this to--”

 

“Mac--”

 

“--has to be a way through here--”

 

“ _ Hey _ ,” he repeated, much more firmly this time as he caught the sniper’s arm to draw his attention. Blue eyes turned towards him in shock as MacCready pulled back as if to break free from his grip. “Mac...this isn’t working. We can’t get through here.”

 

“But…” he deflated in Liam’s grasp, almost sagging against him. “We’ve come so far…” He sounded so defeated. “We can’t give up now…” The despair made Liam’s heart hurt.

 

He steeled his expression, lifting off the gas mask to reveal his determination. “I never said we were giving up.”

 

If there was one thing he’d learned from spelunking through old buildings, it was that there was always an alternative route. They just had to find it.

 

He gestured with his head back behind them. “Come on. We’ll take another look upstairs. There might be something we missed.”

 

MacCready looked unsure of this...but still, there was a small spark of hope in his eye as he reluctantly followed the blonde back up the stairs, sending one last look over his shoulder at the pile of rubble sitting between him and his son’s only salvation.

 

\---

 

There was a hole in the floor.

 

In the furthest cell on the bottom level, there was definitely a hole in the floor where someone must have worn it through in hopes of escape. The only problem was…

 

“We’ve gotta open these doors.”

 

MacCready turned Liam in disbelief, unable to respond. He had to be joking, right?

 

The blonde just turned to look at him, his uncovered face making it clear.

 

He most definitely was  _ not _ joking. And MacCready already knew this.

 

“I hope you’ve got enough ammo, ‘cause this party’s about to get bigger.”

 

…

 

Ok so maybe  _ that _ was a joke. A not-so-funny one.

 

He sent Liam a withering stare, which gained him a flash of a smirk in return...that quickly faded into a more serious frown as the blonde looked up with an exhale of breath.

 

“There was that terminal upstairs. Might be what we’re looking for here.”

 

Even...so...this was insane. There had to be--

 

MacCready straightened his shoulders, gripping his rifle for reassurance.

 

No. He knew Liam was right. This was the only way down that didn’t involve digging through that impossible pile of rubble, or even finding a blowtorch to cut a hole of their own in the floor. This corner cell held the way down, and the only way to get into this cell was to use the terminal to unlock it. Which of course meant it would open all of the cells at once, releasing the remaining trapped ghouls. He’d seen the way MacCready reacted every time they faced ghouls--even asked about it once, to which the sniper had given an evasive explanation--and encouraged him to keep going in attempts to help him face his fears. He wouldn’t just shove a challenge this big into his face out of nowhere if it wasn’t necessary.

 

Because it was necessary. Liam knew how important reaching their goal was. Because he gave a damn.

 

They had to do this.

 

Taking in a breath, MacCready held it for a second, releasing it in a sigh as he reached a decision.

 

“Let’s let them out.”

 

Liam actually looked surprised at his response, his brows twitching upward. He studied the sniper for a moment...and nodded. “You know I wouldn’t suggest this if it wasn’t necessary...right?”

 

It was like he’d heard his earlier thoughts. “Yea...I know.”

 

The blonde’s eyes narrowed as he nodded again, glancing upward before he started for the stairs.

 

Soon they were in the small office at the end of the upper floor, the terminal humming softly before them.

 

“Let me do it.”

 

Liam looked at him in surprise again, but willingly stepped back without question. He approached one of the open doors, assault rifle at the ready as MacCready reached a hand towards the keyboard.

 

_ Here goes nothing… _

 

He tapped the keys.

 

_ Hold on, Duncan. _

 

Hit enter.

 

_ I’m not going to lose you, too. _

 

And unleashed hell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI I LIKE WRITING EMOTIONS. 8D  
> I broke my friend. I am pleased. *shot*


	41. Ghoulish

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I cannot title for my brain is a puddle. Also couldn't get this chapter longer than it turned out, cuz, despite having bits and pieces ready to add in, I couldn't quite bridge the gap to them to add them in.  
> The exhaustion of a 101.4F fever, a horrible night of sleep, and why the fuck did I go to work when that's gotta be what made it this bad. Doesn't matter that meds made me functional. I should've stayed home... *weakly shakes fist*  
> Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go find my lung. I seem to keep misplacing the damn things...

One two three four--

 

MacCready couldn’t keep count.

 

There were so many flailing arms. So many gnashing teeth. Wailing shrieks.

 

He had no idea how many so far. How much longer this would go on.

 

And still they kept coming long after he’d given up keeping count.

 

He thought he heard Liam cry out a few times, whether from being caught off guard or in pain he didn’t know. There was one particular shout accompanied by one of those gargling growls that filled his ears with dread. It almost pulled his attention--

 

He shook his head, stopping himself.

 

No. As much as MacCready was concerned for his partner, he’d do a much better job of watching the guy’s back by continuing to focus on his own waves of oncoming ghouls.

 

They were huddled in the office on the upper floor, having had no choice but to use it as their “main base” just as the hell he’d been forced to unleash had tracked them down as their targets. It was by no means a good source of cover, but at least the single doors on either side created useful choke points, forcing the ghouls to come at them one at a time.

 

Problem was, they were also forced to stay in this room as they endured said waves. They were trapped. Fight or die.

 

 _Or fight_ until _we die._

 

MacCready forced those thoughts away, keeping his focus on the horror trying to come through the door. A couple of them had wedged themselves in a mass of flying limbs trying to get at him. A constant crawling feeling along his spine threatened to overcome his senses. But they couldn’t reach. No. Not with the tally he’d built up in the doorway. A macabre barricade of death and decay.

 

_They twisted and turned to get at him, clawed limbs reaching out with the promise of a ripping tearing death as he ran, barely looking back as the high-pitched wailing in his arms mixed together with the screeches calling out from behind him--_

 

He shook his head hard to clear it.

 

_Just keep shooting. They can’t reach you. They’re easy targets. You have ammo. Use it._

 

_They haven’t gotten you yet._

 

**_They won’t take Duncan too._ **

 

The sniper bared his teeth as something sparked within him, taking aim. Headshot after headshot until the doorway was no long passable for the pile of bodies towering up to the top of the frame.

 

He breathed for a moment, taking it in. And finally heard the commotion going on behind him as his hearing came back into focus.

 

\---

 

Liam grunted as he slammed his rifle into the ghoul that had gotten too close.

 

Fuck, that had gotten too close. One of them had already taken him by surprise, managing to lunge in with a speed he never expected of the decayed things, tagging an uncovered spot on his arm. It was already starting to throb--radiation, he suspected--but he couldn’t do anything about it yet. There were bigger problems than a cut right now.

 

Shit, this was getting crazy. If there had been another way to keep going, he would’ve gladly taken it. He was probably only surviving on military training alone, or sheer stubbornness that reminded him that stopping now was not an option and there was no way he was going to consider it. Fight until there’s nothing left to fight, survive another day.

 

Shooting a new hole into the downed ghoul’s head, he didn’t notice the one that suddenly struck out from the closest cell until it was on top of him.

 

Literally.

 

Caught off-guard, Liam went down as the thing tackled, trying to claw at his face as he barely held it back with outstretched arms on his rifle. He couldn’t quite--shove it back enough to--fire at it--shit that stung--it was going to rip his face off before he could--should’ve left his mask on--swore he could feel its hot breath closing in--

 

_Boom!_

 

\--its head jerked to the side as a bloom of red erupted from its skull before it suddenly went limp.

 

Liam blinked for a moment...then wrinkled his nose, pushing the rotted former human off of himself as he sat up. He looked down at it as his heart reminded him of the predicament he had just been in, turning his gaze to his other side a few seconds later. MacCready lowered his rifle, looking shaken and--what had that emotion been? He’d covered it up too fast for Liam to identify.

 

The blonde climbed back to his feet, drawing a shaky breath as he resisted the urge to shoot the dead ghoul another glance. “Thanks…” he managed to get out, not quite hiding how panicked he had been. Damn it, he really needed more practice with out in the open, up close and personal fighting. Granted, that hadn’t been what he’d been assigned on missions for...but still. Versatility, at least a little bit, could go far.

 

And keep you going in life. That had been _way_ too close.

 

“Um…”

 

He looked up as the sniper pointed.

 

“You’ve kind of…” He pointed at his own face. “One of them got you.”

 

Liam blinked. Brought a hand up to his cheek. And winced as he felt blood. He wiped away the worst of it, probably leaving a smear behind, but oh well. “Ah. Yea. That last one got a little closer than I like.” It didn’t matter. They had to press on. “Not worth worrying about right now.” MacCready didn’t look very convinced, so Liam diverted his attention by continuing. “The door we need should be open, so we should head down.”

 

He leaned to the side to see past MacCready, shooting the sniper a bemused expression. “And by the looks of things, we’re not going out that way.”

 

MacCready glanced over his shoulder, looking startled at the high pile in his respective doorway...and a little impressed with himself. As he should. Because it was impressive.

 

Liam cleared his throat, getting his thoughts back on track, as well as regaining his partner’s attention. He threw a thumb over his shoulder at the mostly clear doorway behind him. “Shall we then?”

 

The sniper nodded, marching forward to lead the way out the door.

 

\---

 

Still no active robots.

 

But there were more ceiling-mounted turrets.

 

At least he’d spotted them this time instead of walking right out into the open like a green recruit.

 

They made quick work of them, too, only triggering the “on alert” sensors of the farther back one that had “woken up” after they’d taken out the first.

 

They had to be getting close now. Liam couldn’t tell how far down they were, but there had been quite a few stairs between here and the holding cells alone. A couple more ghouls had been playing dead along the way--probably more scientists; it was hard to tell at this point--but the number had been manageable. They weren’t exactly hard to pick up on either. Slapping footsteps were pretty distinct.

 

Finally, they reached the end of the hall, going around the corner to come face to face with an elevator. And opposite it…

 

A set of double doors locked shut and only accessible via terminal.

 

The terminal hummed with life.

 

The sign above it read “Main Laboratory”.

 

Liam felt his heart jump into his throat at the sight of it. He turned wide eyes towards MacCready, the sniper doing the same. For a moment, the two of them just stared at each other...before Liam quirked a quick grin, approaching the computer with a crack of his knuckles.

 

\---

 

This was it.

 

The main lab.

 

Behind those doors lie the experimental drug these scientists had been working on.

 

_Duncan’s only hope._

 

He just hoped it wasn’t too late.

 

Gripping his rifle tighter, MacCready watched as Liam tapped at the terminal beside the sealed doors. A sick feeling of excitement and anticipation took residence in his gut. It had to be in there. It _was_ in there. He could feel it!

 

As the doors slid open--to the sound of an alert--that seed of anticipation grew into a knot of dread and--

 

_Oh crap._

 

_“Grah…”_

 

_“Rrrr…”_

 

The slimy cacophony of ghouls “waking from the dead” was their greeting.

 

MacCready found it easier to squash down the crawling feeling this time, taking aim for his first headshot.

 

He could only stare, stock still as a radstag in fright, as a glow of sickly green came charging forward at alarming speed, the worst guttural growls he’d never heard before careening straight for him.


	42. Prevent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter than I'd like again. I almost thought I wouldn't make it in time, but here we go. Down to the crunch time once again. But this time it's mainly because I was coughing my lungs out for most of the past week. Still doing that a little, but at least it's more the "clearing up" phase now. |D It's a bug that's going around. Nasty thing. A lot like the flu or a bad cold.  
> *points* Don't get sick. >8|

He’d charged in straight away, rifle drawn and ready.

 

This was the place they had to be, and these ghouls were in the way. They had to go. No time to lose.

 

MacCready would cover him. He knew the guy preferred to keep his distance in a fight, anyway, especially against ghouls, so Liam had no problem being the one to draw the creatures out of hiding so they’d be easier to hit. He knew his aim sucked in comparison. (Even if it was getting better.)

 

He took a shot as one of the creatures started to climb to its feet, stopping it permanently in the process. What was it with ghouls and lying dormant until he showed up anyway? Did they just wait around all hopeful someone would turn up, get bored waiting, and fall asleep or something?

 

A glow and a bit of movement out of the corner of his eye cut off that thought, causing Liam to turn--

 

To see a glowing one go charging straight out the door for MacCready.

 

_ Shit! _

 

Liam did the first thing he could think of.

 

“Hey!” he shouted, taking aim for its legs.

 

Of course he missed.

 

But it had stopped charging.

 

And was instead turning towards him. That was not--

 

_ “Graaaaaaah~!” _

 

Eyes going wide, Liam started firing wildly, military training going out the window as the thing zig-zagged at crazy inhuman speeds, not a single bullet hitting its mark as it got closer and closer, and finally leapt--

 

_ Bam! _

 

_ Bang! _

 

Two shots, almost simultaneous during the split second the foul creature was airborne--

 

_ Shit-- _

 

Too late to sidestep, it crashed right into him in a tangle of sickly-glowing limbs and...whatever the hell that smell was. Ugh.

 

Liam wasted no time shoving the thing off, his pipboy’s geiger counter clicking up a storm of unhappiness. He was almost afraid to look.

 

More shots fired out. As he climbed to his feet, he realized there were more ghouls.

 

...or were anyway. During his short preoccupation, MacCready had apparently taken care of them already.

 

_ Well then, some use you were there, Liam. _

 

_ Shut up. _

 

He wiped off a bit of green goop to shush the infernal clicking. He’d probably need some radaway for that, but again, he was almost afraid to look.  _ Later, _ he told himself.  _ Deal with it later. RIght now there’s something more important to do in here. _

 

Liam looked up as MacCready entered the lab, casting his eyes around as he reloaded. Liam smirked. “Pretty sure you got them all, hotshot.”

 

The sniper’s eyes flicked his way briefly before he went back to searching the room for more threats, probably just to be sure. Liam took no offense; with ghouls, you never knew if another could be lurking. Finally, his eyes landed on the dead one at Liam’s feet, still glowing faintly. He frowned, flicking his chin towards it.

 

“That thing didn’t manage to get you, did it?”

 

“Nah,” the blonde shook his head. “It got close, but it was dead before it could hit me.” MacCready looked like he was about to ask something else, so Liam cut him off. “Anyway, coast should be clear. The cure’s gotta be in this room, so let’s start looking.”

 

MacCready’s mouth snapped shut on whatever he was about to say, his eyes lingering for a bit and making Liam think he was about to prod about something...but then he nodded, moving towards one side of the room to begin his search.

 

The blonde breathed a quiet sigh of relief. He wasn’t sure why he was keeping his possibly elevated radiation levels to himself, but really, it wasn’t as important right now as finding this cure, and there would be time to deal with it later. They couldn’t say the same about Duncan.

 

He started on his side of the room (pocketing the ironic radaway sitting in a med kit).

 

The refrigerators were immediate regret followed by slamming doors shut. He didn’t want to know what half of those things were. Yet another thing about these scientists that had been sick and twisted… But with every spot they checked, hope was starting to waver. This had to be the place, right? There was nowhere else to go.

 

He chanced a glance towards MacCready, the sight not helping his hopes any. By the look on the sniper’s face, he hadn’t found anything promising either, and was getting even more frantic than Liam was. But who could blame him? It was  _ his _ son they were here for, and if they didn’t find this fabled cure, then…

 

Liam didn’t want to think about it, and immediately shut those thoughts off, instead redoubling his efforts as he debated on searching from square one again.

 

Hold on, though… What was that on the counter in the middle of the room…

 

Frowning curiously, he drew closer to the item sitting on a metal tray. A red syringe, with some writing on the side--

 

Liam’s eyes widened, carefully picking it up to look closer.

 

He drew a breath, eyes widening further as a disbelieving smile curled the corners of his mouth. “Hey. Hey, Mac. Get over here.”

 

\---

 

Empty.

 

Broken flasks.

 

Human bones.

 

Weird...he didn’t want to know whats…

 

With every container and box he checked, MacCready felt his heart sinking more and more into his stomach in a pit of dread. They couldn’t have come all this way for nothing. Fought all this way for nothing.  _ There had to be something. There just had to be. Duncan was relying on this. This one thing that could save him. And if it wasn’t here, then-- _

 

“--get over here.”

 

_ \--huh. _

 

MacCready jumped, the lid he had lifted dropping with an echoing  _ clunk _ back onto the med kit he had opened. Jumping again at the sound, he stared at it for a second, before remembering that Liam had been calling for his attention. He glanced over. Liam was waving him over, an odd expression on his face, something held carefully in his other hand--

 

MacCready drew a sharp breath, rushing over.

 

“Holy crap-- Is that--”

 

He reached for the syringe as it was held out to him, hesitating a little as if afraid this was all an illusion. But his fingers definitely closed around a real syringe. Not something he’d dreamed up. He held it carefully, turning it over in his hands. The word “Prevent” showed clearly printed on its side.

 

“Holy crap…” he couldn’t help repeating. “This is it. It doesn’t even seem real, but we actually did it. How can I ever thank you for this?” Was he tearing up? He was tearing up, wasn’t he. But MacCready couldn’t find it in himself to care. Hell, Liam looked halfway to happy tears, too. His smile was definitely getting a little watery.

 

“Let’s just make sure it gets to your son alright.”

 

MacCready rubbed his sleeve over his face--this was no time for breaking down--nodding. He pulled out a bit of cloth, carefully wrapping the syringe to protect it and tucked it into his top front pocket. Right next to the toy soldier. That done, he looked up at Liam again. “We should head to Goodneighbor. Daisy’s been helping me send things back to Duncan, so she should be able to get this to him, too.”

 

Liam nodded. “Alright. Sounds like a plan.”

 

Before they could head for the elevator--blessedly functional now--he needed to say one more thing. “Hey…” Liam paused, looking at him with raised brows. It still amazed him how expressive the blonde actually was when he wasn’t wearing the mask. “I just want to let you know...I really appreciate all you’ve done. If there’s any way I can pay you back for all this…”

 

But his words were cut off by a raised hand.

 

“Hey, there’s no need.”

 

“But--”

 

“Mac, I told you. We’re friends. You don’t owe me anything.”

 

“Well...still. Just...thank you for everything.” Now he was getting sappy. Oh boy, stop while you’re ahead of yourself, MacCready. “I’ll try not to ask you for any more favors. Everyone’s after your attention enough as it is.” They still had that settlement’s task to complete, and Liam had gone out of his way to help him instead. He almost felt guilty.

 

Almost.

 

He felt like Liam was about to say something in protest again, so he cut him off before he could. “Ok.  _ Now _ let’s get out of here.”

 

That just earned him a bemused expression and an equally amused nod before the elevator door dinged open.

 

\---

 

The bright light of sunrise greeted them when they stepped outside again. They’d been there all night apparently. MacCready squinted as his eyes readjusted, the mild tearing not doing anything to dim the grin still threatening to crack his face.

 

Nor did the whirring of a distant vertibird.

 

“Oh sure, Brotherhood. Show up now when we don’t need you,” Liam quipped from beside him. But he sounded more upbeat than annoyed by their presence, the high of success still thrumming through him as well apparently. He turned towards the sniper. “Come on. Let’s hurry to Goodneighbor. Your boy’s waiting.”

 

The grin definitely cracked the sniper’s face then as he nodded. “Yea...”


	43. Bunking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again with my not knowing how to title. \o/ Would've had this up sooner, but a 3D puzzle I got for my birthday had my attention for about 3 hours when I would've been finishing this chapter up instead. >> And that was after I'd gone out for several hours before that.

“Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure this reaches him safely. My boys know to get there fast, and they haven’t let me down yet.”

 

“I know they will. Thanks, Daisy.”

 

“No problem, sugar. I’ll let you know when I hear any news. Just try not to be a stranger, alright?”

 

The sniper ducked his head sheepishly. “Yea. You got it Daiz.”

 

Liam watched the exchange mutely, still unable to believe they had pulled it off. Gotten the cure for MacCready’s son.

 

The sniper had risked so much for his kid. Even leaving him and everything he knew behind when there had been only a slim chance of being able to save him.

 

And what was he doing himself? Running around doing fuck-all to save his own son. Building back up a dead people’s army instead of running in to face his son’s kidnappers.

 

Although...you could argue that he was doing it to create a better world for his son to come home to. To grow up in. Somewhere safer than it was right now. Except…

 

Liam couldn’t fight off the feeling that he was only procrastinating. Putting off the inevitable. Or taking so long that by the time he actually managed to meet his goal, it would be too late.

 

...if it wasn’t too late already.

 

He shook off those thoughts as his hand found the holotape sitting securely in his front shirt pocket, the familiar feel of it bringing a sort of comfort, as well as reminding him of what he’d lost. What he needed to do. What he  _ would _ do.

 

After all, he’d already managed to (hopefully) help save an endangered child.

 

Who said he couldn’t do it again?

 

The exchange done, they exited Daisy’s general goods shop, knowing she would do good on her promise to deliver the medicine to Duncan. There was nothing for the two of them to do now but wait.

 

“So we’ve had enough of super mutants and ghouls. What should we get fed up with next…” Liam thought to himself a moment. “I guess there’s Brotherhood--”

 

MacCready cut in, “Had enough of them, too.”

 

“...guess it’s a good thing we were asked to deal with raiders then,” the blonde concluded, glancing down at his pipboy at the location he had marked after their visit to Greentop. The settlers  _ had _ asked them to deal with a pestering gang of raiders hauled up at Dunwich after all. “But how about we take a break first. I know it’s not really that late yet, but I’m pretty beat after our trip to Med-Tek.” Not to mention irradiated. He couldn’t forget that. He could already feel a headache lingering behind his eyes, and an edge of nausea that was becoming concerning. And...yea, that meter showed a higher number than he was pleased with. Definitely time to crack out the radaway. “The Rexford ok with you?”

 

“I guess. Beats the VIP room, anyway…”

 

“Heh. Yea, it actually has doors.” And a distinct lack of mannequins.

 

“...what are you smirking about?”

 

Crap, had he forgotten to put his mask back on?

 

Dropping the smirk, Liam brought up his hand.

 

And hit gas mask.

 

_ Wait a second. _

 

He slowly brought his hand back down to his side. “How could you tell I was…?”

 

MacCready brows flicked upwards for a split second, giving away that he was pleased with himself. He gestured towards the blonde with his chin. “Your ears. They kind of...move a little when you smile or whatever. One of them was a little higher than the other just now.”

 

Liam blinked, tilting his head curiously. “Huh. I didn’t realize. I need more practice than I thought.”

 

“...practice?”

 

“Yea. It’s…” He looked away for a second, having a short debate with himself.  _ Ah, hell with it. _ “It’s partly why I wear this thing,” he explained with a flick of his hand towards his face. “I was always good at...controlling myself back when I was in the military. Probably how I got the rank I did…” Being a Corporal required a deal of charisma after all. His men wouldn’t have listened to him otherwise. “But I was retired for a year before the--” He cut himself off, changing his words mid-sentence. “...before all this happened.” Didn’t really make it any easier to say. “Didn’t really need to worry about keeping my facial expressions in check, so I fell out of practice. And I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to show everything I was thinking on my face until I got better at it again. Hence,” he gestured towards his face, “the gas mask.”

 

“Uh huh…” MacCready didn’t sound too convinced. But there was an edge of something else there, too, that he couldn’t figure out just yet. “So anyway...what was the smirk for?”

 

“Don’t worry about it.” Liam waved it off, hoping he made that convincing enough. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to explain about the mannequins. Not without embarrassing himself anyway.

 

MacCready gave him a curious look, but luckily didn’t ask further as they made their way to Goodneighbor’s only hotel.

 

Liam made sure not to have any form of expression that might shift his ears long before they reached it.

 

\---

 

Of course, only one room was available.

 

And like most of the rooms at the Rexford, it only contained one bed.

 

They both turned towards each other, looked at the bed, looked at each other again.

 

And dashed for it.

 

“Ha!” MacCready sat up from where he’d thrown himself onto the mattress, bouncing in his rush to make it first. He’d beaten Liam by a mile. A swell of pride began to build as he smirked at the blonde, who’d made it only a little over halfway. They’d been nearly tied before the sniper decided to close the distance by jumping. “Bit slow to the draw there, aren’t you?” He probably shouldn’t gloat so much; Liam had haggled down the room price and paid for it after all… But he couldn’t help rubbing in the fact that he’d one upped him at this.

 

Except Liam just shrugged, resigned, tossing his pack onto the nearby couch instead.

 

MacCready felt his smirk fade a bit as his pride began to deflate. It was no fun gloating if the other person didn’t react. Trying not to frown at the lack of...anything...he pulled his own pack off and set it aside, intending to make the most of having the bed anyway. No way he’d waste the chance to sprawl out for once, and in relative safety (keeping a pistol under his pillow of course; he wasn’t stupid).

 

He glanced over again as Liam dropped onto the couch with a sigh, dragging his bag towards himself. Suddenly the guy seemed a lot more tired than he’d let on before. It seemed to be taking extra effort for him to rifle through his bag for something. Come to think of it, Liam had seemed more sluggish than usual on their way up here. He’d put it down to the taxing journey through Med-Tek, all while racking up a lack of sleep. It definitely wasn’t from injury. They’d barely gotten scratched--a miracle really--and even then, a quick stimpak had taken care of it, not even leaving a scar behind. Had to be lack of sleep then.

 

A frown really did cross his face as the blonde removed his gas mask.

 

Liam was sweating.

 

A light sheen had developed on his forehead. The corners of his eyes were pinched from exertion. He seemed to be breathing carefully, maybe even starting to shake slight--

 

An image flashed through his head, of the ghoul that had all but tackled Liam; the line of blood he’d spotted on the guy’s face from where one of its elongated ragged fingernails must’ve tagged him.

 

_ Shit. _

 

MacCready hopped from the bed and moved towards the couch, grabbing Liam’s wrist--and ignoring the “Hey!” of protest--to look at his pipboy. A few seconds of fumbling to figure out how to switch through screens and he had his answer, causing a quick intake of breath.

 

Liam’s radiation levels were pretty high.

 

Not  _ dangerous _ levels exactly. But enough that he had to be feeling like crap. Not taken care of, he could get really sick, and then it  _ would _ be a problem.

 

It took him a moment to realize that the blonde was trying to pull his arm back towards himself. Reluctantly, MacCready let him, turning a frown onto his friend. “How the heck--... Did you see how high your radiation is? When did that happen?” He tried to meet Liam’s eye, who kept looking anywhere but directly at the sniper.

 

“Must’ve been when those ghouls scratched me after we let them out. Or that Glowing One leapt on me in the lab…”

 

Frick, how could he forget the Glowing One? That thing had been out for blood and gotten really close. But that had been hours ago. Shi--crap. This could’ve-- _ should’ve _ \--been taken care of a lot sooner. “Why the hell didn’t you say anything?”

 

Liam sighed tiredly. “We had the cure. I wasn’t going to make us stop until it got where it was needed. Besides, it wasn’t really... _ bad _ . It could wait a bit.”

 

The guy looked ready to pass out from exhaustion. Like hell it could wait. “It took me  _ months _ to get that cure. Believe me, an extra hour is nothing at that point.” But it could make all the difference for treating radiation.  _ Get it together, MacCready. Getting pissed off won’t do any good. Besides, he’s older than you; he already knows how stupid this was. He doesn’t need a lecture when he already feels like crap. _ He took a breath, getting his rising anger under control before he spoke again. “Do you have radaway?”

 

Liam blinked. But at least now those odd gray-blue eyes were meeting his gaze. “That’s...what I was looking for actually…” Liam turned his eyes back towards his open pack. Geez, how did he even find anything in there? How much crap could one person possibly carry?

 

“Well, hurry up and get it out. You should never let your radiation get that high. That’s pretty much Wasteland 101.” He was pretty sure there was a chapter in the Wasteland Survival Guide just on radiation alone. The different levels, treatment options, what would happen if you  _ didn’t _ happen to get treated on time… Some real neck hair raisers in there, that was for sure. Nothing he wanted to see happen in real life.

 

Though he often wondered if the author had taken artistic liberties, as he had met the “field researcher” they had hired and they definitely hadn’t shown signs of an extra limb.

 

...not that he could tell anyway.

 

…

 

And he was going to stop that line of thought right now.

 

“And you’re taking the bed. That’s final.” Damn, had he really just offered that? MacCready played the words over in his head.

 

Yep. Definitely told the loser of the race to take the thing he’d won. Though frankly, it would be a really crappy thing to  _ not _ offer it.

 

Liam blinked. “But...you won the race to it, remember?”   
  


“Well...yea. But I also beat a  _ sick _ guy to it. That hardly counts as winning.” It wasn’t really a win at all. “Just...take it before I change my mind.” Hell, he wasn’t really going to change his mind. Liam looked ready to pass out, and that couch couldn’t be good for sleeping on. (Was that a spring sticking out of that cushion there?)

 

The blonde stared at him a moment...before releasing a sigh of resignation. “Fine…” With a groan, he got to his feet, MacCready barely resisting the urge to steady him as he wavered a bit before he regained his balance. “But I’m not letting you use the couch. That thing feels like it’s seen better days…”

 

The sniper narrowed his eyes speculatively. “Then where the hell am I--”

 

“The bed’s big enough,” Liam cut him off with a simple shrug, looking casual about it. “Should be enough room if we each take a side. Unless you think you’d kick in your sleep or something.” He managed a small smirk that caught MacCready off guard.

 

“What? No. That’s not--” he stammered, cutting himself off before it got worse. Besides, Liam’s suggestion wasn’t really...weird or anything. It was pretty damn logical; the bed really was big enough for the two of them. Almost no chance they’d bump into each other at all since he wasn’t known for rolling around a lot in his sleep. And Liam didn’t seem to shift around too much either from what he could tell of their nights keeping watch in turns.

 

There really was no argument against it. And Liam knew it.

 

MacCready sighed, feeling defeated.

 

\---

 

He should’ve argued using the couch.

 

Not like it was  _ that _ bad really. It was only one spring sticking out after all. He was sure he had some tool that could possibly get rid of that.

 

…

 

Ok, who was he kidding. No amount of work with the stuff he had in his pack was going to bring new life to that couch. It needed reupholstering, restuffing, re...everything. And he wouldn’t even get paid for his efforts, so it wasn’t worth it. Not for the single night he planned to spend here. It wasn’t like he had the energy to even execute those thoughts, so it was a moot point to begin with. He was pretty sure MacCready would have a few words against his plans, too.

 

Liam blamed his weird thoughts on the radaway. That had to be it. Not the awkward feeling of sitting side by side--though only technically, as they were a fair distance apart--with a guy he’d met not even two weeks ago on a somewhat crappy--less crappy than the couch--bed in a cheap hotel room. Waiting for the radaway to do its thing. It wasn’t known for working fast, but a glance at the levels shown on his pipboy indicated that it was working. So that was good. It just made him feel slightly nauseous and hungry at the same time. But that was going to wait. He was much more interested in sleeping.

 

If he could only get past the awkwardness of sharing a bed.

 

Or rather, past MacCready’s awkwardness. The guy was practically radiating tenseness with such levels it was making the air stiff. Did he think Liam was going to bite him or something?

 

“You know…” he started speaking before he could stop himself, only realizing he had when he saw the sniper somehow tense up more in surprise. “...we could put our packs between us if you want.”

 

“...” MacCready seemed to hunch in on himself, radiating tense awkwardness even more if possible. He didn’t answer the blonde either. Didn’t really acknowledge he’d said anything in any way. Instead, he turned onto his side to face the wall, practically hugging the edge of the mattress.

 

Liam blinked slowly a few times at the sniper’s back...before shrugging to the room. “It was just a suggestion.”

 

“...”

 

Still not getting a response, Liam frowned to himself, turning his attention instead towards his overloaded pack again. Despite how tired he was, he didn’t think he was going to be able to sleep just yet. Not until the radaway took away the general feeling of crap he still felt.

  
For now,  _ Grognak _ was calling to him, and rereading his favorite issue sounded like a great idea right about now.


	44. Hitting the Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Forever not knowing how to title these things. Doesn't help that this is more like multiple "mini chapters".

He stared at the wall. Tracing the lines with his eyes. Following the worn and ripped patterns of old pre-war wallpaper that still managed to cling on.

 

Until the flap of pages being flipped were replaced with the sounds of Liam’s breathing slowly evening out into sleep.

 

MacCready sighed, finally feeling the tenseness drain from him as he did so.

 

This was stupid. What reason did he have to feel awkward? They weren’t doing anything, for crying out loud! Just making the most logical use of what they had since all the other options were plain dumb and pointless. The bed was big enough for two with space to spare, so why use the crappy springs-in-your-back couch when they could both use the decent enough mattress? End of story.

 

Although…

 

MacCready peaked carefully over his shoulder at the sleeping form behind him.

 

...he wondered if it would be possible to sneak away and…

 

…

 

And do what exactly? Use the couch that he already knew was crap and not sleep from his back being dug into all night? Or use the hard floor and be in just as crappy shape?

 

_ Get over it, MacCready. The guy’s already asleep, and even if he wasn’t, you know he’s not gonna do anything. Hell, why are you even worried he might? _

 

Was he even worried Liam would do anything?

 

...honestly, no.

 

So what the hell was his problem?

 

Sighing in frustration at himself,  MacCready forced himself to uncurl from his completely uncomfortable position at the edge of the bed to try to relax more on his back. If anything, Liam was right about one thing: there was enough room that they should be able to sleep without bumping each other.

 

He turned his head a bit, listening as the blonde breathed evenly in his sleep. Obviously unbothered by the bed-sharing situation.

 

His brow furrowed curiously as he caught sight of what Liam had been flipping through, sitting face-down open on his chest.

 

A comic book.

 

Against his better judgement, the sniper sat up a bit to lean closer towards it. Unfortunately, Liam’s hand was covering part of the front cover, making it impossible to read the full title. But it was definitely an issue of  _ Grognak _ . One he hadn’t seen before. He could make out the words  _ Grognak the Barbarian _ due to them being obvious, but only some of the subtitle was visible. He squinted, as if that would help.  _ Jungle...of the Bat _ ...something. Going by the disturbing images of little kids with wings that reminded him of dragons on the cover, he was going to go with “babies” being the last word.  _ Bat-babies, huh? That’s a new one. _ Must be a rare issue or something. It seemed familiar, but he wasn’t sure if he’d actually heard of it or just read too many comics and it fit the pattern of them.

 

MacCready jumped back as Liam shifted suddenly, holding his breath until the blonde resettled again.

 

_ What the hell are you doing, MacCready? Quit being a nerd and go to sleep already! _ And just imagine if the guy had woken up then. Trying to explain what he’d been doing could be mortifying. Even though it’d been nothing really!

 

Mentally berated, he carefully moved away again, intending to attempt sleep (but pretty sure he would fail). Except a glint caught his eye.

 

A glint off Liam’s hand over the comic.

 

His wedding ring.

 

Oh yea, that was right. He’d seen that before. Figured Liam must be married or...something. He was searching for his son who had been kidnapped from the vault he was frozen in. And having a son required there to be a mother. But that brought up the question…

 

Where was Liam’s wife?

 

Immediately, his mind went back to the article Piper had written. It hadn’t mentioned Shaun’s mother in there. Had it? It had only mentioned Liam and Shaun being in a cryogenics vault, where, despite that fact, someone had managed to break in and take his kid. Nothing else was mentioned outside of Liam going out into the world he no longer knew to try to find his son. No mention of a wife.

 

Was she back at the vault? Liam never said. And where was the vault anyway? He came from Sanctuary, and he currently lived there now...or technically did anyway when not on the road. Wouldn’t his wife--if he had one--be there too? Liam had his old house there; he’d seen a robot occupying it as well, which he assumed the guy owned. But no other sign of movement in the house. And no one at dinner who Liam hadn’t introduced or who could possibly be his spouse.

 

So what was with the wedding ring?

 

Had something happened? Something horrible?

 

An image of ghouls tearing into flesh, screeches and cries filling the air as he did nothing but  _ run. Run away, get as far away as you can, get Duncan to safety, just get out, NOW, HURRY, GO-- _

 

His mind spinning with questions, and other thoughts he fought to keep at bay, MacCready stared up at the ceiling.

 

There was no way he was sleeping now.

 

\---

 

His comic sat neatly on the bedside table.

 

Liam blinked at it.

 

Had he put it there before falling asleep last night? His memory was a bit fuzzy. He just remembered the pages slowly blurring as he’d read through his favorite fight scene, the epic battle still not dull despite the dozen times he’d read the issue. And then...Grognak’s war cry just kind of...sliding off the page into darkness.

 

Huh.

 

The other thing he noticed was a lack of hired mercenaries.

 

Frowning, he sat up, casting his eyes around the room, feeling a little hurt at the sniper’s absence. Which seemed a little...silly in a way. But he definitely wasn’t here. His pack was even gone, unless it was just really well hidden.

 

Had MacCready had enough of his company? Maybe this was how he planned to avoid asking Liam for any more favors despite being told it was no problem if he needed help. Maybe telling him that had been a little too far for him. It didn’t sound like he had many friends. He definitely didn’t trust easy, that was for sure.

 

Or maybe he felt like he didn’t need to stick around anymore. His contract was long fulfilled, or it seemed that way to Liam. The guy might’ve pointed out pretty often that the blonde was a lousy shot--and he definitely wasn’t as good as the sniper--but…

 

He didn’t even know where he was going with his thoughts. For all he knew, MacCready might’ve been looking for the right moment to cut ties and being back in the place where he’d first been hired probably looked like the perfect opportunity. It wasn’t like Liam really  _ needed _ the help; he just liked having extra company. Even if not for chatting, having an extra face around that you  _ could _ talk to was enough.

 

Pushing down his thoughts since they weren’t doing him any good, Liam climbed to his feet, grabbing onto the nightstand to steady himself as he still felt a little wobbly. Yea, he was definitely feeling the after effects of the radaway. His stomach was practically gnawing on itself. Dried brahmin jerky wasn’t sounding too appealing, but maybe Charlie would have something not too overpriced and at least halfway decent down at the Rail--

 

The door suddenly swung open.

 

Liam instinctively reached for the weapon that wasn’t on him, cursing himself as he realized his rifles and pistol were still in his pack, down at his feet. By the time he would stoop to grab one, it would already be too la--

 

And froze as MacCready shut the door behind him, pausing as he noticed the blonde stood staring like a deer in the headlights.

 

Liam blinked.

 

MacCready blinked back.

 

Before snapping out of the impromptu staring match. “Huh. Didn’t think you’d be awake yet with how dead to the world you still were.” He held up some sort of sack that had a semi-appealing smell wafting from it. “Managed to convince Whitechapel to part with some fried mirelurk egg at a halfway decent price. Not the best thing in the world, but,” he shrugged, “it beats anything we’ve got on us. Oh, and I snagged a couple of purified waters since I wasn’t sure how many you were carrying.”

 

Liam blinked slowly, still staring. And felt the side of his mouth twist up in the start of a smile. He shifted it to a smirk at the last second. “Define ‘decent price’. He ripped you off, didn’t he?”

 

MacCready just sort of pouted in a way that was almost cute. (Ok, so not “almost”. It was definitely cute.) “Do you want any of this or not?”

 

The blonde couldn’t help snickering at how offended he sounded, causing the sniper to look even more (cutely) annoyed. Sobering, Liam answered, “Calm down, Mac, I was just teasing.” He let the smirk slip into place again, quirking a brow as he did so. “You certainly know how to win a guy over, don’t you?”

 

Oh, was that a blush? And diverted eyes. He’d definitely embarrassed MacCready.

 

Taking pity--and not wanting to scare him since he’d definitely been flirting without meaning to (whoops)--Liam reigned in the teasing words, switching back to a more genuine smile. “Can’t say I’ve had fried eggs in awhile.” The eyes peeked back over towards him, still wary, but a little less so. “Never thought to use mirelurk, but with the way that smells, I guess it works pretty well.

 

“But tell you what. How about we... _ not _ sit on the sofa while we eat. I swear I see another spring sticking out of one of the cushions...”

 

Those eyes wandered over to the offending piece of furniture. MacCready snorted, the tension finally broken. “Yea, fu--...screw that thing.”

 

\---

 

Breakfast was mildly pleasant.

 

While they didn’t actually say much, mostly idle chit-chat about nothing in particular, the silences never strayed from comfortable. MacCready found himself pretty woken up by the time they left the hotel, despite how little sleep he’d gotten the night before.

 

Hell, for a good portion of the night, he’d found himself contemplating taking his rifle apart to do some maintenance on it, if only to pass the time and to give himself something else to focus on than his thoughts.

 

Especially after one particular vision of ghouls gained a different victim from the usual.

 

One with a specific shade of blonde hair.

 

He still wasn’t sure what to make of that. Except maybe it was confirmation that he thought of Liam as a friend he didn’t want to lose.

 

Yea, that had to be it.

 

But he needed to focus. They were heading back north to regain the trail to Dunwich, which meant dealing with raiders. Raiders who went out of their way to steal from farmers of all people. Having dealt with a similar annoyance back in the Capital in the form of Brotherhood soldiers pushing their weight around, MacCready could kind of relate. But Brotherhood weren’t so quick to kill. Raiders were, so they needed to be dealt with. Plus there was whatever could be on the road between here and there, so he definitely needed to keep alert. No time to get caught up in his thoughts...

 

Wait, had Liam’s head tilted a bit his way? Suddenly he was aware of eyes on him, watching.

 

MacCready’s brow furrowed. “What? Is something on my face?”

 

Immediately, the blonde’s head tilted back forward. And were his ears turning red? “No, you just seemed...out of it is all. Was wondering if anything was wrong.” Pause. “You could tell I was looking?”

 

“Well...yea. You’re actually not that subtle.” He hadn’t been kidding about “needing practice” it seemed.

 

“Or you’re just really observant.” That...sounded like a compliment. MacCready blinked, wondering if he should take it as one. “Maybe you should be the one on point.” There was a teasing edge to Liam’s words, but he definitely sounded like he was complimenting the sniper.

 

He tried not to blush himself as he answered. “Hey, it was ‘you lead, I follow’, remember? And you’re the one with the map. Besides,” he injected some of his own teasing into his voice, “this way I get to point out when we’re going the wrong way.”

 

“Oh no, so not only are you going to criticize my aim, you’re also going to be a backseat driver? I don’t know if I can take that. Maybe we should just cut ties right now.”

 

It was really hard not to laugh or even grin at Liam’s exaggerated hurt tone. “Sorry, can’t get rid of me that easily. You’re just going to have to live with it.”

 

“Well damn, guess I have no choice then.” Liam was definitely grinning. He didn’t need to see his face to know that.

 

\---

 

Well, that hadn’t gone to plan, but that little teasing match had gotten MacCready out of whatever was making him drift off, so...mission accomplished, he guessed.

 

He wondered if the sniper had even slept last night. There were slight bags under his eyes, and through part of breakfast, he’d seemed...sluggish.

 

He’d also caught a few odd looks thrown his way that he couldn’t identify. Maybe later he would ask about that and see if anything was bothering the sniper. Even if he couldn’t help, he could at least be an ear.

 

But it seemed like that might need to wait a bit.

 

Because he could hear gunfire up ahead, right in the direction they were heading.

 

_ Of course it is. Because we can’t have this be easy, now can we? _

 

Mentally sighing, he turned towards MacCready. “I guess we get to meet the locals. What do you think? Wanna check it out?” It wasn’t like they had a choice.

 

And his partner obviously knew this as he put on a resigned frown, staring forward towards the raging battle. “What if I said no?”

 

Liam smirked with little mirth. “Then I’d be agreeing with you, but I think we’re going to have to anyway. Unfortunately,” he sighed the last word.

 

They’d been lucky so far, avoiding conflict by sticking to the woods and travelling mostly cross-country. But sooner or later, they were going to hit the road again, and it sounded like they’d found the best possible place to do so.

 

The sniper sighed in return. “Yea, I figured. Let’s get this over with then.”

 

With that, the blonde nodded, leading the way again towards the unavoidable fight he could still hear ongoing.

 

...after dealing with the yao guai he found by practically stumbling across it.

 

Or rather…

 

After  _ MacCready _ dealt with the yao guai Liam had stumbled across.

 

Most of Liam’s shots missed.

 

Of course.

 

One giant rock had a nice new hole in it, though.


	45. Molotov

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fire. Explosions. Fiery explosions.  
> This was turning out to be a great day already.  
> (If you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyy we've broken 100,000 words! =D  
> Now enjoy the madness.

A cloud of fire exploded in his face, followed by a gout of flame that licked at the edges of his vision.

 

Hell, there was fire practically everywhere.

 

…

 

“Hell” was even a good way of putting it.

 

Of all the places for the land to lead them to the road again, it had to be on the fringe of a raging battle. And it was hardly a battle. More of an overkill ambush, as the main target had been a caravan passing through that had gotten too close to what looked like an old ironworks of some sort. And it looked like the group that had taken it over liked their face-melting heat, since the majority of them were wielding flamethrowers and molotovs.

 

As if the wasteland wasn’t full of enough fu--messed up gangs.

 

He’d lost sight of Liam pretty fast, as they’d had to dive out of the way of oncoming molotovs and avoid the crazed loonies running at them with makeshift melee weapons (obviously lower-ranking members if they weren’t given flames). There was no chance to find him again either, as he was too busy lining up headshots on the ones lobbing molotovs from the roof, or getting out of the way of a crazed brahmin that had somehow not caught on fire. The popping of crappy pipe pistols was sounding off from somewhere nearby, too, slowly moving away as they receded from the fray. The same direction the brahmin had run, so he assumed that was the caravan retreating.

 

Of course they were. The attention was being drawn from them; perfect time to run.

 

Which meant they wouldn’t be thanking the two of them for diving in to help. And by “thanking”, MacCready meant giving them caps. The universal “thanks”.

 

_ Jerks... _

 

Holding back the scowl, he moved to better cover as another crash of breaking glass landed too close for comfort. These guys had way too good of aim. At least he hadn’t heard any pained shouts from Liam yet.

 

...or maybe that  _ should  _ be worrying him.

 

_ Focus. Worry about the cleanup after. Get rid of these guys first. Line up shot, release breath, smoothly pull trigger, fire. Rinse and repeat. _

 

He continued this way until the chaos finally calmed down, leaving behind a considerable amount of bodies and flamethrowers (and a few molotovs that hadn’t broken) strewn about.

 

No sign of Liam though.

 

MacCready pushed down his panic.

 

The guy could take care of himself. Sure, he might have gotten hurt a few times while they’d been travelling, but he’d survived without MacCready’s help in the past. He obviously knew how to handle himself.

 

Except these raiders or whoever they were had been pretty tough. That had been a lot of fire. Even dodging their attacks, the edge of his duster had gotten singe marks (added on to the fraying). He might even be smelling a burnt hair or two.

 

He cautiously stepped out from behind the bushes he’d been using as cover--a foolish choice, but there hadn’t been anything else to use--casting his eyes about the bodies in the still-smoking grass. Normally this would be the time to start rifling through their pockets for whatever caps or ammo they had...but that wasn’t the first thing on his mind. What he was looking for now was more along the lines of blonde hair…

 

His boot nudged the big tank of a flamer out of the way, watching the short skid mark kick up a small cloud of dirt. All of these guys were weirdly burned...but none of them were Liam. It was a relief, but where the hell was--

 

There was a crunch of gravel under feet.

 

MacCready automatically raised his rifle, aiming down the sights.

 

And froze at the same time as the blonde in question as he stepped out from behind the chain link fence, raising his hands in a placating manner.

 

“Whoa. Easy there. It’s just me.” He slowly lowered his hands again. “That was a hell of a fight, wasn’t it.” He glanced back over his shoulder at the building looming above them. “Apparently this is Saugus Ironworks. Not the place we need to be (obviously), but we’re not too far off the mark.” He turned back towards the sniper. “Those raiders at Dunwich have gotta be pretty ballsy if they’re passing by this place. Or insanely tough.” He paused, tilting his head a bit. “You ok? Not injured I hope.”

 

It was at that moment that MacCready realized he’d been staring openly. Maybe even a bit wide-eyed. He made sure his jaw wasn’t hanging open before he answered. “Yea. Fine. Little more fire than I like, but I was too quick for them.” He smirked a little half-heartedly, dropping it a second later as he eyed Liam. “What about you?” He couldn’t spot any burns, but they hadn’t just been using flames. “That fight got pretty crazy. Couldn’t see where you went, so I wasn’t sure how many of them went after you...”

 

The gas mask slid away a bit. “Not injured, no…” That didn’t sound too convincing, and Liam must have read that on his face. “I mean...there were a couple of close calls, and a few of them did get up in my face with the fire...but it was nothing a stimpak couldn’t take care of,” he added on quickly.

 

Immediately, MacCready started picking out the signs of slightly pinker skin on one of Liam’s arms, maybe even the side of his neck. Freshly healed wounds, treated by a stimpak. He pushed down that weird panic feeling again. There was no need for that; the guy was fine. See? Took care of himself just like he knew he could.

 

So why did MacCready still feel so concerned?

 

“Anyway…” Liam started up again, prompting MacCready to stop staring (again). “How about we loot everyone we can find and get out of here?”

 

That sounded like a plan.

 

They mostly found flamer fuel and of course molotovs on the scattered bodies, but also a bit of caps and some other ammo from the few that carried ballistic weapons. And all the while, MacCready swore he kept feeling eyes on him. Except…every time he glanced up, Liam was looking nowhere at him.

 

Though he couldn’t help noticing that that “watched” feeling would vanish each time...

 

\---

 

They didn’t get very far.

 

They’re barely rounded the corner of the building before more gunfire could be heard, along with some rather loud blasts.

 

Missile launcher.

 

Liam frowned, dropping into a crouch so as to not be seen. He saw from the corner of his eye MacCready doing the same, taking the cue to be stealthy. Still not the most effective at it, but getting there (and causing Liam a small swell of pride).

 

He turned his attention back to the bits of overpass ahead, on the other side of a shallow stream. A few someones were definitely shooting down at something below. At what, he couldn’t see, but what he could tell…

 

Liam’s eyes narrowed as MacCready voiced his conclusion out loud through gritted teeth. “ _ Gunners… _ ”

 

Great. Just what they needed.

 

Of course, it was possible they could sneak past. No need to fight them. But he’d developed a strong...dislike for the group. And seeing them now, firing missiles off a highway down at someone or something that wasn’t fighting back with the same tenacity was just...irritating.

 

But they really should just leave. The Gunners had the advantage, being up high like that. It would be a waste of ammo. Hell, this wasn’t even the right way; the road was the other direction, and then they needed to start heading north off the road to reach Dunwich--

 

When did his sniper rifle get into his hands?

 

Annnnd now he was aiming down the sights, the recon scope marking the intended target, still wielding their ungainly missile launcher--

 

_ Bang! _

 

The Gunner’s head practically disconnected from her body before she went down in a heap out of view. The remaining Gunners on that part of the highway started scrambling, searching out their attacker.

 

Liam hunkered down further into the bushes on this side of the stream, feeling MacCready’s wide-eyed stare on his back.

 

“Yea, that was pretty dumb, I know,” he muttered without looking at the sniper. He could still feel the staring. “But on the bright side, they’re distracted from whoever they were firing at, which means they might be able to get away...”

 

He swore the staring felt incredulous now.

 

“...right. Doesn’t make it less dumb. I know.” At this point, the Gunners had given up on finding their attacker. He never understood why people gave up so fast, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to take advantage. “Alright, they’ve stopped searching for us.”  _ Me, _ he mentally corrected. “Let’s get back to the road.”

 

Carefully, they crept their way back to the road, noting that the highway seemed to be looming over an old junkyard the Gunners must have taken over. It made sense. There had to be useful scrap and tech buried in there. Tempting to check out if the place wasn’t filled with something worse than rats...so for now, Liam focused more on getting back to the current task.

 

But the day was only just getting better.

 

They found a bridge that would take them over the stream, except…

 

“You think you can jump on our claim of the U.S.S. Constitution and get away with it?”

 

…

 

_ You’re kidding, right? Please tell me you’re kidding. _

 

But the pistols being aimed their way were definitely not a joke as the group of scavengers that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere at the head of the bridge started to rush them.

 

“Over there!”

 

And that was a Gunner...

 

Apparently they’d set up a few scouts to patrol the road.

 

They soon found themselves in a full scale battle between opposing forces with the two of them caught in the middle.

 

It was like deja vu.

 

But with less fire.

 

Considerably shorter, though, Liam noticed, blinking as the scavengers retreated down the opposite bank towards the stream, the Gunners in pursuit.

 

Followed by a small explosion.

 

Then silence.

 

Liam stared at the clearing plume of smoke, blinking a few times. “Well, that was weird.”

 

MacCready turned from his own staring to stare at Liam instead. “What was that about?”

 

“Huh?” He blinked at the sniper. “What do you mean? The gunfight?” Because if that was what he meant, wasn’t it obvious? It was the wasteland, and that shit happened because it could. He should know that, right?

 

“Not that.” Mild irritation (and incredulousness) had leaked into the sniper’s words. But he pulled it back as he continued. “The thing those guys said. Something about the Constitution or whatever…?”

 

Ah. That. “It’s a...long story.” Had they had this conversation before? Because Liam was getting some serious deja vu.

 

Now MacCready was frowning at him.

 

Liam ducked his head a little. “It’s a ship.” Received a browraise. “I kind of...stole it from them.” There went the other brow. “Like I said, long story. I’ll tell you later.” Oh yea, they’d definitely had this conversation before, and this time, he better hold his promise to explain, because he could see the recognition in MacCready’s eyes. He remembered the conversation, too; from back on the Freedom Trail, after they’d run into some super mutants behind Faneuil Hall. The ship in question was perched high up on a building around there.

 

But what Liam wanted to know was, what the hell were a bunch of scavengers who had been part of that fiasco doing this far north of where the ship had previously been “docked”? And then they’d recognized him?? This day was already too much.

 

“Look, how about we just…” He gestured towards the Gunner-infested junkyard. “...get past these guys? We’ll talk when everything calms down, ok?” he added on when he still received a frown.

 

That seemed to satisfy the sniper, who only nodded at him.

 

Liam nodded back.

 

Cautiously, they crossed the bridge.

 

\---

 

_ “Engaging hostile.” _

 

Well, this day couldn’t get any better, could it?

 

They’d been spotted (of course) as they cleared the end of the bridge and tried to sneak past the Gunner base. There must have been someone competent on watch duty, because it wasn’t long before the “fun” began, bringing the whole base into it.

 

_ \--clankclankclankclankclank-- _

 

The ominous metallic sound of an assaultron in pursuit was enough to make a grown man piss himself.

 

And one was currently heading for Liam.

 

_ Shi-- _ MacCready barely held back the swear, even if the mental ones probably didn’t matter.

 

He lined up a shot, disrupting its charge at the last second--

 

Wait…

 

What was that whistl--

 

_ SHIT-- _

 

He turned towards Liam as the sound grew louder, opening his mouth to try to yell out a warning--

 

Too late--

 

**_BLAAAAAMMMMMMM_ **

 

The humongous cloud caused by the detonation of a mini nuke threw him back against the junk fence lining the base. He probably wasn’t close enough to take substantial rads...but the direction that thing had been heading was…

 

MacCready squinted through the dust, cold dread climbing up his back as he tried in vain to peer past, to see some hint of blonde…

 

_ Bang! _

 

_ Crack! _

 

_ Crackle snap snap BAM-- _

 

What the hell…

 

The dust finally settled, revealing the sparking and mangled pile of metal that had once been an assaultron, one claw still reaching out towards its target. And just a short ways from that claw…

 

Liam stood, heavy breathing apparent even at this distance as he stared down at the metal devil, the sniper rifle he’d originally drawn in his hands from when he’d first attempted to take out the Gunners at a distance.

 

A .50 caliber that close? Definitely enough to finish off a damaged robot.

 

MacCready felt his breath leave him in a rush of relief...except it was short lived.

 

There was another whistle--

 

This time he saw Liam look up in alarm.

 

\---

 

_ Shit. _

 

_ Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit _

 

And did he mention  _ SHIT _ ?

 

The mantra of swear words continued as the blonde backpedaled as fast as he could to avoid the inevitable--

 

**_BLAAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM_ **

 

He dove as it hit, attempting to cover just a bit more ground to get as far away from the blast as possible. No way in hell did he want a repeat the previous day. Radiation sickness was no picnic. It had taken the better part of the morning for him to feel back to normal again.

 

And he doubted those ghouls had irradiated him as much as a mini nuke would.

 

Liam pulled his pipboy towards his face, not daring to get up just yet.

 

The little needle of his geiger counter was moving, but not going into the red “danger” zone. Damn, that was lucky.

 

He turned his head over his shoulder, watching the dust settle and realizing...he was still pretty out in the open. Less lucky.

 

Quickly getting to his feet, barely taking the time to brush himself off, Liam dashed for the closest cover. Which wasn’t exactly cover--some bushes--but it would cover him from view, and that was about what he wanted right now. He needed to get rid of that nuke-happy Gunner (who reminded him of the “nuke-happy raider” back in Lexington, but that was beside the point), and if they didn’t expect him, that would give the advantage. Let them think he’d died in the blast so they’d drop their guard some.

 

Of course, that might mean MacCready would come to the same conclusion…

 

But he couldn’t worry about that right now. They were both dead if he didn’t deal with the one with a fatman. Unless they’d run out of ammo...but he couldn’t take that risk.

 

He pulled up his sniper rifle, the recon scope picking out targets through the fading debris. And... _ there _ . He found his target on the highway. The fatman was still hitched up onto their shoulder, poised and ready as they scanned for anything in the area to hit.

 

They’d never get the chance.

 

Not if he could help it.

 

Holding his breath, Liam pulled the trigger.

 

Smirked in satisfaction at the spray of red as his quarry went down.

 

And fought to stay upright as something cracked over his head and his vision went gray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes. Cliffhanger. >> I almost feel bad for that.


	46. Nuke to the Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.  
> Fallout 76.  
> Meh? \o/

Something snapped.

 

It may or may not have been his skull.

 

Eyesight still dark, he swung out in a rage.

 

There was a yelp, whether in surprise or pain didn’t matter. He had caught them off guard, and that was to his advantage.

 

Everything went red as instinct took over, tempered by years of combat experience and training.

 

_ The need to survive. _

 

Snap. Crack.  _ Slash. _

 

Every bit of the sniper rifle was utilized as a makeshift melee weapon. He barely remembered it had a bayonet attached to it, but his memory was jogged as it made contact with his enemy until he no longer needed to.

 

It felt like an eternity, but the fight must have lasted only seconds.

 

Liam breathed heavily, fingers clenched tightly around his rifle as his vision slowly cleared and he saw the bloodied mess of his attacker.

 

A Gunner. With some kind of lead pipe.

 

Now with multiple slashes and bruises, and he might have broken their nose before they died…

 

But that didn’t matter. Because--

 

_ \--tink-- _

 

\--he could hear a grenade bounce.

 

_ Fuck-- _

 

Could the day stop getting better?

 

Liam dove for the bushes once again.

 

_ Please? _

 

\---

 

Where the hell was Liam??

 

MacCready wedged himself against the junk fence, keeping out of sight behind a battered and half-buried shipping crate. It held back most of the dirt that nuke had kicked up, but it also blocked his view of where he had last seen the blonde, along with what might’ve been a few more Gunners sneaking up from farther down the road. But he couldn’t be sure since he couldn’t actually see the road right now.

 

He thought he could hear shouting from somewhere, maybe the sounds of a scuffle, and the debris was clearing up, so--

 

Suddenly a Gunner was in his face.

 

Strung up on adrenaline as he was, MacCready smacked them with his rifle, causing the pistol in their grasp to hit the ground with a clatter. He never let them retrieve it, swinging at the Gunner’s head so they were forced to lean away, backpedaling a bit.

 

Just the opportunity he needed.

 

He painted the road with their brains.

 

Right as an explosion rocketed across the road.

 

_ What-- _

 

MacCready instinctively ducked down into cover again as his head whipped towards the new cloud of dust.

 

And focused on the blonde dashing away from it.

 

He drew a sharp breath as Liam veered in his direction. Still alive. Still in one piece.

 

...and sporting a bloody gash on his head.

 

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the red staining blonde hair as Liam quickly checked the surrounding area before hunkering down behind the storage container as well. “Damn it...there’s more of them than I expected,” he muttered as he reloaded his rifle. The bayonet on the end had a bit of blood staining it as well. But that hardly caught the sniper’s attention.

 

“Your head…”

 

“Huh?” Liam’s gas mask-covered gaze turned towards him. He seemed to realize where MacCready was looking, raising a hand to gingerly touch the bloody mark. The wince was obvious by the way he flinched. MacCready almost winced with him. “Ah. Yea. One of them snuck up on me as soon as I got clear of the nuke. Had some kind of pipe or something...but they won’t be using it again,” he said with finality. Explained the state of the bayonet. The sniper continued to stare though. That didn’t looked pretty; he should really take care of it. Again, Liam seemed to realize what the sniper was thinking, because he soon continued. “I’ll take care of it as soon as we’re done here. Promise.”

 

_ You better, _ MacCready thought with a frown as he followed after the blonde, this time towards the front gate of the now oddly quiet Gunner base.

 

\---

 

Not that many Gunners remained.

 

With how many of them they had dealt with outside of the base (and sniped off the highway from a distance), it shouldn’t seem surprising. But the place was big. The numbers should’ve been bigger.

 

Didn’t stop Liam from wanting to explore every bit of the place he could, though. Who knew how many good things were buried amongst all the junk. Should be a lot of scrap metal, maybe a few engine parts; it was an auto-based junkyard after all. And anything along those lines could be really useful for his power armor. Or, hell, his regular armor if he only managed to find scrap metal. It had gotten a few more dings along the way that needed patching. Unless one of these corpses had something better on them… Morbid, yes, but just the way it went. He’d gotten desensitized enough to looting bodies by this point to hardly care.

 

Which should be worrying, but again, that was just how it went in the wasteland.

 

What  _ wasn’t _ what you normally found in the wasteland, however…

 

“That’s...different.”

 

...would include a very clever use of a construction crane, some pulleys, and a wooden ramp.

 

Liam watched as the ramp was hydraulically lowered until it met the highway, creating an effective method of reaching the ground above. Whether fashioned by the Gunners or a previous resident beforehand didn’t matter. It was still impressive.

 

He stepped away from the terminal he’d been tapping away at (and where he’d found the program used to control the crane), studying the way up as he approached it.

 

MacCready eyed it warily. “That doesn’t seem stable. Sure it’s a good idea to go near it?”

 

“It must be if these guys were hauling fatmans and missile launchers up there…” he muttered, setting one booted foot onto the first plank carefully despite the confidence hinted at by his words. Couldn’t be too sure after all. He pressed a bit more of his weight onto it. Seemed ok. Emboldened by this, he took another step, putting his entire weight onto the first wooden plank. It might’ve creaked a little, but it was definitely holding.

 

Turning his head over his shoulder towards the sniper, Liam raised both brows--forgetting they would be covered by his gas mask and thus not visible--inclining his head towards the ramp. “Shall we then?”

 

MacCready still didn’t look too convinced, but followed along anyway, though with a bit more caution as he peered over the sides at the height they were gaining.

 

Ah, right. Heights.

 

“You can wait down below if you prefer.”

 

The sniper seemed offended at that. “Heck no. I go where you go, remember?”

 

Liam grinned to himself, though he wasn’t entirely sure why. “Alright, have it your way.”

 

\---

 

_ Besides, you might fall over, and then what? _

 

_ And don’t think I didn’t catch you wobbling a few times… _

 

Damn, MacCready was starting to sound like a worried parent. Which...he was, technically… Besides, it was justified. Liam still hadn’t taken care of his injuries--they’d both been too paranoid to stop and rifle through their belongings to look for stimpaks--and the blood drying on his scalp was a concerning reminder that he’d been smacked in the head. Those kinds of wounds could be serious, and it wasn’t always obvious at first. The longer they were left alone, usually the worse they would become. And if that lead pipe had hit hard enough to cause a concussion, MacCready had no way of telling, as Liam had yet to take off his mask.

 

No, all he could really do right now was follow closely and watch for any sudden downward turns, all while hoping there was nothing left in the area to threaten them so the wound could finally be dealt with.

 

Which meant checking the highway. Via climbing a rickety ramp of questionable craftsmanship. Great idea for a guy with a head injury.

 

Luckily, the coast was clear. No Gunners popping out of hiding to catch them by surprise. Just the unstable nature of a crumbling highway to deal with. Liam was still wavering a bit as they went, too, but he seemed to be more interested in combing over whatever loot the Gunners had stashed up here.

 

And looking through their terminal.

 

Of course.

 

MacCready frowned as he tapped away at the keys, going through the intel they’d collected probably. He remembered Winlocke and Barnes had had a similar setup at their own base. Hopefully Liam wouldn’t take too long on there. He was about two seconds away from stabbing the guy with a stimpak himself.

 

“Huh. They’ve got an entry on the quarry in here…”

 

That piqued his interest a bit. “What’s it say?”

 

“Raiders like we thought, but they’re a bit...strange? apparently. Doesn’t specify what they mean. Oh, and the ‘Forged’, whoever that is, seem to be recruiting from them. Guess that’s those guys at the iron works. Would explain how they’ve been able to pass that place by with no problem, if they’re associated with each other. Other stuff in here talks about a cannery in the area, and some things around Revere. Not really relevant to what we’re doing, but good to know I guess.” He made a few notes in his pipboy; maybe marking things down on the map.

 

Liam lowered his pipboy again with a sigh, not getting up from the chair in front of the terminal yet. “Think it’s safe up here?”

 

MacCready blinked at that, but did a quick sweep of the area with his eyes. Didn’t seem like anything was about to jump out at them, and this part of the highway was flatter than the rest, and seemed less likely to crumble under their weight, so… “I guess?”

 

Liam sighed again. “Ok…” He reached for his pack, other hand lifting off the gas mask with a wince as it stuck to his hair a bit from drying blood.

 

MacCready nearly winced himself, taking a step closer. “Hey, do you need help with…” He wasn’t sure what.

 

“Nah, I got this. Thanks.” The blonde flashed him a quick smile that was part grimace as he held up a stimpak, carefully jabbing it into his neck. This time MacCready did wince with him as it began to work. Liam sat back further in the chair with an exhale, keeping his eyes closed as he breathed carefully. “Just...give me a minute.”

 

Oh yea, he could definitely do that. He knew how unpleasant having a serious wound knit itself back together at a rapid pace could be. Stimpaks may be life savers, but there was no way to get around that weird sensation.

 

He cast his eyes around the area again, not really knowing what else to do while he waited. His brow furrowed as he looked out into the distance, over the ocean that was visible from here. Along with…

 

“So you can see that from here, huh?”

 

MacCready blinked in surprise and looked at Liam, who seemed to have been looking the same way as him. “You mean the Prydwen?” It disgusted him to say the name of that airship, it being the Brotherhood’s pride and joy after all; after that rumored giant robot of theirs.

 

The blonde’s brow furrowed as he studied the silhouette they could see hovering in the distance. “Prydwen, huh? Didn’t know that’s what it’s called.”

 

The sniper almost made a remark about that, remembering Liam’s association with the Brotherhood...but held it back as he also remembered the guy saying he hardly counted as a member of their group, only really being counted among their numbers in technicality. Out of desperate necessity.

 

And mostly because Liam saw people in trouble and gave enough damn to help them. Even if they were Brotherhood.

 

...though he wondered if the blonde would’ve done so if he’d known about the group’s reputation…

 

…

 

Hell, he might’ve helped them anyway. He just came across as someone that might if the need was great enough.

 

“I might have to get up close and personal with it one of these days, so I guess it’s good to know the name…though I’m pretty sure Danse would understand if I didn’t know.”

 

“...‘Danse’?” That name was vaguely familiar, though he couldn’t place it.

 

“The Paladin leading the squad I helped out.”

 

“Ah.” He wasn’t sure what else to say to that.

 

Luckily, Liam didn’t let the silence hang very long. “Anyway…” He got to his feet with a groan, reaching for the gas mask he’d put down. “Let’s get going. I think I’ve had enough of this place, even if it is a hell of a view.” He eyed the straps of the gas mask, taking in the half-dried blood caking it, and frowned. “Bet my hair is no better than this thing right now, is it.” It was a rhetorical question; not really a question, but MacCready shrugged anyway. “Yea...not really much I can do about that right now. Not really any point anyway, if we’re just going to get into another fight. And Dunwich is  _ right there _ …” He looked off in almost the opposite direction of where the airship hovered, where a bit of white rock was visible over the hill across the road. “No reason to wash off blood if you’re just going to get bloody five seconds later, right?” He shot the sniper a smirk, though it wasn’t entirely humorous.

 

That also felt like a rhetorical question. This time MacCready just frowned. Liam didn’t seem to take any mind at that, brushing off some of the dried blood and sliding his gas mask back over his face. He turned towards the sniper again. “Shall we then?”


	47. Borers: far from boring

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was something big going on beneath the surface of this place...  
> Literally.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That chapter title was like pulling teeth. @_@ I hate coming up with names.

_ CrcKOOOOOOOOOM-- _

 

That had been when they first left Hub City Auto Wreckers.

 

And of course it had drawn Liam’s attention. Because it was Liam.

 

MacCready swore he was part cat. He definitely had the curiosity of one.

 

What they had found after approaching the explosion--a logical thing to do with unknown explosions if you were Liam apparently--was a guy in power armor standing in front of a blown up car. Explained the explosion. The guy, though…

 

At first, they had both thought “Brotherhood”, because who else would they find this far out here in a suit of power armor? But upon closer inspection, the power armor had this interesting flame pattern painted onto it. He’d heard the blonde mutter something like “hotrod” under his breath, which sounded familiar. Definitely not a Brotherhood design though, unless they’d grown lax on the appearance of their soldiers’ suits.

 

“This hunk-a-junk is picked clean, daddy-o.”

 

...it was also pretty obvious by the way he spoke that he wasn’t Brotherhood.

 

_ “Daddy-o”?? _

 

MacCready had just sort of stood there blinking the whole time the weird guy and Liam…“conversed” if you could call it that. What he  _ could _ gather from the weird...whatever...was that this guy was part of a group that souped up power armor and he had been out looking for useful parts. Sounded a lot like someone he was currently traveling with. Minus the...calling people “cool cats”.

 

He couldn’t see Liam’s face, but he got the feeling the blonde was just as perplexed as he was as they watched the guy clank away up the road. They both turned to stare at each other silently.

 

Until there was another explosion.

 

“...I guess he found more parts,” Liam had commented.

 

That was behind them now--literally. In front of them, below the rocky ridge they were perched upon, however…

 

Carved rock walls of white with metal stairs and scaffolding forming various paths and routes to the bottom of the pit below…

 

And at least a dozen raiders wandering them in various places. Including…

 

“Shit, that’s not good,” Liam mumbled.

 

One in a suit of power armor on the slope twenty feet below them.

 

Yea. Definitely not good.

 

\---

 

Damn. This might be harder than he thought.

 

_ Focus, Liam. You have the advantage here. You’ve managed to get up higher than them. Even the guards in those two stations along the rim there. _

 

_ Remember your training. You got this. _

 

They also had the added advantage of the sun going down on their way up here. There was barely any light left at all (aside from various lanterns and candles scattered across the walkways). More ambient than anything, and definitely not enough to highlight the two of them up here on this ridge.

 

Plus, the idiots weren’t even looking up. That would be their last mistake.

 

_ Don’t get cocky. _

 

Liam reigned in his confidence for a more cautious approach, pulling out his sniper rifle and checking its ammo. He got the feeling he wasn’t spotting them all walking around down there, but this thing should be able to pick them out and mark them for him to track, even if he were to switch it out for something else. Had to love recon scopes.

 

Putting the scope to his eye, Liam slowly swept over the area, following the lines of scaffolding as they zigzagged up and down.

 

He was right. There had been a few things he missed. Including a couple of turrets perched on the landings of a few stairwells.

 

In total, he counted at least ten, including the turrets. And that was without seeing into the blind corners down below, or past the slopes just in front of them. There were more; he could almost guarantee it. But it was a start, and every bit of knowledge helped, even if they were essentially going in blind with no way of knowing the full layout ahead.

 

Suddenly, Liam missed his old squad.

 

Shaking off the thought before it could depress him further, he turned towards the sniper. “We’ve got around a dozen,” he whispered. “Two turrets on the stairs. One guy in power armor just below us. Haven’t seen us. Most of them are patrolling.”

 

He could barely make out MacCready frowning. “Those are some shi--sucky odds,” he shot back just as quietly. “Not sure I wanna deal with that many at once. So how should we go about this?”

 

He sounded determined not to back down despite how much was against them. Liam’s heart might’ve beat a bit more giddily at that. “We stay hidden and take out as many as we can before they notice us.”

 

Unfortunately, neither of them were equipped for stealthy takedowns. Unless you counted Liam’s 10mm. Which he wasn’t. Because that thing sucked at high distance.

 

No. They would have to risk drawing attention towards their elevated rock if they wanted to keep this vantage point.

 

Oh well.

 

There was about to be a lot of thunder.

 

\---

 

He had no idea how they managed to pull that off.

 

Neither of their rifles had silencers, so the gunfire should’ve been obvious even if the raiders somehow didn’t manage to spot the muzzle flares.

 

But no. They hadn’t been spotted. And every time it looked like someone might glance their way, Liam signalled for the two of them to duck down behind the rock and wait it out. It had worked every time, too.

 

And these raiders were supposed to be different somehow??

 

Aside from Mr. Power Armor and his remaining cohort finally noticing them and attempting to--pathetically--hit them with what had to be cheap pipe pistols, and one turret tucked into the shadows that Liam’s special scope hadn’t managed to mark taking aim...there had been no dings in their plan. Everything had gone smoothly. All that was left to do was loot and move further on.

 

So why did MacCready feel so paranoid?

 

“‘Danger. Rock quarry. Keep out.’ Heh,” Liam scoffed at the sign they passed as they scuttled between the two watchtowers. “Sure, there’s danger. But I doubt it’s the kind they had in mind.”

 

They ended up taking out another couple of raiders on their way down, but still, that feeling causing the hairs on the back of the sniper’s neck just would not go away. He started to wonder if maybe he should mention it to the blonde. It wouldn’t be the first time his instincts had tried to tell him something. And usually they were right.

 

But before he could open his mouth and say anything, they were pushing their way into the tunnels.

 

\---

 

It was dark. But also too bright.

 

And of course full of raiders. (That explained the areas that were too bright.)

 

Every gunshot echoed way too loudly for MacCready’s liking. As if they might dislodge the carved stone around them, causing it to collapse and either trap them or worse.

 

He might’ve grown up in a cave--literally a series of mining tunnels that had been turned into a tourist attraction back when--and yes, this was pretty much the same thing...but that odd feeling to the air was putting him on edge. Hopefully they wouldn’t need to be here too long.

 

Liam seemed to glance up every now and then, too, so he guessed it wasn’t just him that was feeling unnerved. Especially after the blonde had looked through the terminal at the area deemed “Station 1”.

 

“Of course they denied them more support beams. Of course,” he had muttered after stepping away from it. Both of them had been glancing around a lot more at every rumble and bit of debris coming loose after that.

 

They continued on deeper into the tunnels, finding and picking off more raiders from the shadows as they went, and trying not to go into the spotlight-lit sections any more than they needed to. Eventually they came across terminals for stations 2 and 3 as well. Complete with their own denied requests if Liam’s muttered comments as he read through them were anything to go by.

 

And a set of stairs that took them even further down. Great. A way further into this paranoid hell and it didn’t even have a full set of railings.

 

But it also put them in the perfect position to get just the vantage needed to take out the raider at the bottom. This one seemed better equipped than the rest. Had to be their leader.

 

_ Bang! _

 

Liam stood from where he’d been crouched precariously over the edge of the scaffolding landing. “Annnd we’re done here. Looks like there’s some good stuff on that last one. Or halfway decent anyway... Whaddya say? Loot and get out of here?”

 

He didn’t need to be asked twice.

 

While Liam headed for the body in the middle of the room, and he would’ve done the same himself to check out how many caps they’d made...instead, MacCready was drawn to the prize sitting on a workbench a few feet away.

 

_ Astoundingly Awesome Tales: Attack of the Metal Men _ .

 

He saw Liam look over from his cap-counting, practically heard his eyebrows go up. “That’s an interesting one.” He nodded at the comic in MacCready’s hands. “You definitely need to read that.”

 

...if that meant it was now his, then hell yea. He wasn’t about to give it up anyway. Into the sniper’s pack it went.

 

That done, he surveyed the carved out room for anything else of interest to take with them. The quicker they could be done here, the better. That paranoid sensation hadn’t left him, and it was stronger than ever.

 

There was a door across the room.

 

It was chained.

 

On  _ this _ side.

 

That sent off warning bells in his head.

 

Of course, Liam noticed it, too.

 

The blonde tilted his head at it, as if considering something. “I wonder…” And then he approached it!

 

“What are you--” MacCready started, too astonished to finish the protest.

 

Liam paused when he got near, turning back towards him. “Well...it’s just…” He looked at the door again. “Those terminals back there? They all had the same message on them: ‘Report to Station 4 immediately. We’ll explain when you get here.’ And we haven’t come across Station 4 yet.” He looked back towards the sniper. “I’m betting it’s down this way.”

 

MacCready stared.

 

The blonde was undeterred. “Oh, come on. You can’t tell me you’re not even just a  _ little _ curious?”

 

…

 

That’s it. Screw “part” cat. Liam was full-on feline. There was no other explanation.

 

There was also no stopping him from pulling the chain free and opening the door.

 

\---

 

They really should leave.

 

The job was done. There was no reason to stay. He knew this.

 

Except something about the place was drawing Liam in further. Not just the entries on the terminals that insisted on the foremen of the other stations reporting to the fourth one. It was more of a...compulsion. He had to find out what was at the end of all the tunnels. The draw was too great to ignore.

 

This would have concerned him if he wasn’t so determined to see this through.

 

So onward they went. Down a long tunnel, practically stumbling at times as a strange fog seemed to fill every corner of it. There were a couple of close calls in there, too, as a couple of ghouls were doing their best “coming back to life” impressions for them.

 

MacCready didn’t like ghouls. He should probably see how the guy was doing. But...the pull was stronger.

 

Barely taking the time to loot, he pressed on, hearing the scrambling of footsteps behind him as the sniper tried to keep up.

 

...yea. He should at least slow down some. If not for stealth, then at least so his partner didn’t get left behind.

 

Forcing his legs to stop carrying him forward, Liam paused, listening for MacCready’s footfalls. Once they were close enough, he started forward again, but this time at a more sedate pace; better for him to keep up with.

 

Finally, the tunnel ended. Some sort of excavating machinery was sitting dormant off to the side, not far from another door. This one not chained. After dispatching a ghoul laying in wait behind the equipment, Liam turned towards the door, reaching for the handle…

 

And froze up as his vision went white.


	48. Definitely not boring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alternate title: "This is crazy"
> 
> The last third of this is "hot off the presses", so it might not be as beta'd as it could be. Also why I stopped it at the point I did.  
> pleasedon'thateme

Liam was like a man possessed.

 

It was all MacCready could do to keep up with him as they stumbled their way forward through the tunnel, a strange fog drifting in so thick it was difficult to see the form only a few feet in front of him. There was a fear of being left behind, and he almost believed that was what Liam was trying to do. Until he slowed down. He was still in there then.

 

But it was only a mild relief, especially when Liam’s hand reached out in front of him at the tunnel’s end, and he just…

 

Froze.

 

Staring.

 

And then his head whipped around, throwing the sniper off guard. He fumbled with his rifle as the blonde just kept looking around. As if searching for something. Or seeing...something. But what?

 

MacCready looked around as well.

 

There was nothing. Just the strange fog and stifling darkness hiding the ghouls they’d left behind. The  _ dead _ ghouls that were  _ not _ going to spring up again to attack or stalk them.

 

He shook off the thought just as Liam seemed to come back to himself with a sharp breath. He was still looking around shakily, drawing in just as shaky breaths, but definitely not staring off into nothing like before. MacCready stopped himself from gripping Liam’s shoulder, not wanting to startle him too much. “What is it? What happened?” He was finding it difficult to keep his voice steady. And did the walls just rumble? That didn’t sound good.

 

“There was…” Liam’s voice trembled as he spoke. “Was that wall...always like that…?” MacCready frowned, but Liam didn’t seem to notice as he turned back towards the way ahead. And drew a sharp breath. “The door…!”

 

The sniper blinked. Looked at the manmade wall that was clearly just a doorway. “What door?”

 

“There was-- But it was just-- There was a door there. Right there! Hell, I  _ touched _ it a second ago. Before I saw…” He shook his head hard.

 

Ok, now this was getting concerning. MacCready lowered his voice some, attempting to imitate a calming tone as if speaking with a frightened animal. “ _ Liam _ , there was never a door there.” Was Liam overly irradiated again? Those nukes back by Hub City might’ve caused more damage than they thought. Maybe he could sneak a look at his pipboy…

 

“But I swear there was--...” The blonde just shook his head again, though this time less aggressively, as if he was trying to clear it. “There’s something...strange about this place…”

 

MacCready nearly sighed in relief as the blonde sounded more like himself suddenly. “Yea, I could tell you that before we came down here.” ‘Strange’ was an understatement.

 

That got him a snort in response, which was definitely a relief. “Seriously, though, I don’t know what that was. Something about this place is just...drawing me in. I can’t explain it.”

 

Because  _ that _ was comforting. “I’ve been getting bad vibes from this place for awhile now.” It felt silly to admit that, but also necessary. He trusted his gut on this, and Liam needed to know how  _ not _ good this place felt.

 

Except that wasn’t enough of a hint that they should leave. Quite the opposite, as Liam spoke again, determination backing his words.“Now we  _ really _ need to find out what’s going on down here.” He checked his rifle clip, topped it off, and turned back towards the sniper. “I can’t guarantee I won’t go weird again, so I apologize in advance if I do. But it’s going to bug me to hell if I don’t get to the bottom of this.” Not just curious; stubborn, too.

 

And...call it crazy, but MacCready really wanted to know what the hell was going on in this place as well. A person didn’t just start seeing things for no reason. Sure, Liam had been to war, and definitely had moments of PTSD--that time in Natick came to mind--but...to reach for something that isn’t there when you’re sure it exists? He wasn’t sure what Liam had seen in the past, but it sure as hell couldn’t have been doors.

 

There could be a gas leak… He remembered reading through one of the old battered tour brochures leftover at the mine talking about the dangers of working underground. About finding pockets of gas that would release from the rock and cause all sorts of bad things to happen; from hallucinations, to suffocation, and ultimately death.

 

And that had been information put out for a  _ kids’ _ tour.

 

He really hoped that wasn’t the situation here. But if there was gas, why wasn’t he feeling it? Hell, Liam had a gas mask on! He shouldn’t be affected like this--if at all. No, there was definitely something weirder going on here. And it looked like the only way to find out was to go deeper.

 

MacCready sighed in resignation.

 

Looked like Liam’s curiosity was starting to rub off on him.

 

“Lead the way then, partner.”

 

\---

 

_ Clack. Clack. Clack. _

 

_...well that’s not good. _

 

One by one, the lights that had been brightening up the tunnel behind the not-door suddenly went out ahead of them as they stepped past the threshold. The only light seemed to be emanating from off of that strange fog. Good warning signs to  _ get the hell out _ .

 

Except Liam still had that driving urge to continue onward. At least he was aware of it now, and knew it was because there had to be something unsettling hiding somewhere ahead in the dark.

 

Yet another sign to get out.

 

And...this had to be his imagination, too...but Liam swore he could hear this... _ slapping _ sound. Like something was moving around with big wet heavy footsteps.

 

An image of a ghoul with comically large feet came to mind.

 

Except this sound wasn’t just echoing through the tunnels.

 

It was coming from the  _ walls _ .

 

There was something  _ inside the walls _ .

 

_ And that could not be possible. _

 

_ Is there some giant sea monster living down here? Maybe the kraken got sick of the irradiated ocean water and decided to move in... _

 

Hell. That was probably a much more welcome scenario than the truth.

 

Wait, was that a light ahead?

 

The source of light turned out to be a lantern, still burning brightly as if it was just set down. And that was a dead raider next to said lantern, surrounded by just-as-dead ghouls. The whole scene looked like it hadn’t happened that long ago.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught MacCready suppressing a shudder. Frowning in concern, Liam looked at him curiously. Of course, it was hidden by his gas mask, but the sniper seemed to get the idea anyway, catching his stare and looking away with a frown and a shrug that clearly said more than was being said.

 

Ok, one day he had to learn what was up with MacCready and ghouls. “Memories,” he’d said. Was it just the ghouls? Or--his eyes drifted back to the fresh corpse surrounded by corpses that smelled less fresh--something more specific? Either way, it would have to keep waiting, as this was not the time or place to find out.

 

The tunnel rumbled again.

 

Had to keep moving. It--whatever it was--couldn’t be too much farther now, and the sooner they got to the bottom of this--literally?--the sooner they could leave and report their good news to Greentop. Or continue looking around the area first. There was no harm in doing that since the settlement was already safe from its current threat anyway.

 

But Liam was getting ahead of himself. Focusing on the dim rock ahead, he continued onward, hearing the reluctant--but also determined--footsteps of MacCready picking their way after him.

 

Was it his imagination, or was the fog getting thicker? And that sound was...louder. Was whatever it was getting closer? And how could it be in the walls? Were they hollow?

 

These thoughts and more raced through his head as they rounded a corner--

 

_ squish, squish, k-thud _

 

\--as the soggy weighted noises kept going.

 

Was he hallucinating? Could it all be in his head? Was he just dragging MacCready along with him on his slow descent into madness? Honestly, he wasn’t sure how he  _ hadn’t _ gone insane yet. Everything that had happened these past few months--and years ago, if Shaun really was ten years old now--had been...crazy. And that was an understatement. If this place didn’t lead to their deaths, he might need to find himself a shrink after this.

 

If there even were any.

 

They would have a fucking field day with him. Or go mad themselves.

 

His silenced pistol took out a ghoul playing dead on the ground.

 

The walls rumbled.

 

He shot another ghoul.

 

And looked up at a familiar humming that seemed out of place.

 

A terminal.

 

Liam’s heart leapt into his throat.

 

Finally. Finally they’d found station four. Maybe now they could get some answers.

 

Most of what was on it was the same as the terminals at the previous stations. Entries about safety and events coming up, yadda yadda, nothing important… But the one thing that was different was a holotape. Someone had left behind a recording.

 

He glanced at MacCready--who seemed equal parts wary and clingy--who was keeping his eye on their surroundings, dark as they were. Knowing the sniper had his back--and touched that he’d stuck with him this far even in such a wild situation--he hit play.

 

…

 

Ok…

 

That hadn’t really cleared things up.

 

If anything, the verbal entry--a report?--had just piqued his curiosity even more. This place was apparently a cover. They’d gone to such efforts of creating this elaborate set up just to hide...he didn’t know what. Hell, they’d even hired a “standing crew” so the other workers farther up wouldn’t get suspicious. And they’d worried they would; especially the foreman at station one who had been worried about cave-ins and “took his job too seriously”.

 

Just what the hell was going on here??

 

An image of the kraken came to mind again just as another of those wet dropping sounds echoed through the walls--or his mind?--even louder than before. It was even starting to remind him of giant bugs. Very soggy ones.

 

Liam drew a breath, releasing it slowly as his eyes wandered down the tunnel ahead.

 

He wasn’t sure why, but it felt like his answers would be down there. That this had to be it. What they were hiding. What they’d been doing. What crazy thing was causing him to go...crazy.

 

“You don’t have to follow me down there if you don’t want to.” He nearly jumped at his own voice, seeing MacCready do the same, as neither of them had really dared to break the odd atmosphere that made speaking feel “taboo” in a way. But...even though he hadn’t planned on speaking, he found he meant the words he’d said. This had gone on long enough. If he was going insane, there was no reason to completely drag anyone else into it. And if it was the caves themselves, then it didn’t need to claim another person along with him just because he had been too damn curious for his own good.

 

There was a shaky breath from beside him. “I’ll admit, I’ve been questioning why I followed you down here…” the sniper started, keeping his voice down in case something was lurking in the bright fog that somehow wasn’t doing much to light up the caverns. “But...I made a promise, and I don’t go back on my word. So until then, you’re stuck with me.” There was an odd lump forming in Liam’s throat that no amount of swallowing could get rid of. “Now let’s go see what these assho-- _ ergh _ ...these loonies were doing down here that they needed to keep secret.”

 

Did some of the fog manage to get under his gas mask? Because suddenly everything looked a bit misty along the edges.

 

Finally clearing his throat of the weird blockage that had formed, Liam nodded. “You got it, partner.”

 

\---

 

Why the hell had he said that?

 

He’d been given a chance to go. A chance to get out of this hell forsaken pathway to hell or whatever it was ahead. And he’d gone and shoved away the silver platter it had been offered on. Because promises. Which...while yes, that was true; he wanted to stick with the deal they’d originally agreed on--Liam leading, MacCready following--it didn’t mean he needed to follow him into possible death. Or madness.

 

Or both.

 

The walls rumbled ominously. And...was he hearing some strange sounds echoing off the walls, or was the oppressing nature of these caverns and its mysterious fog finally getting to him?

 

Promise or not, it was highly tempting to suggest they get the heck out of here--

 

Everything flashed white.

 

_ Candles lined the tunnel up ahead, creating a dance of flickering light along the rocky walls as they led the way into the chamber ahead, revealing a series of marble pews lit up by even more candles… _

 

His vision went white again.

 

MacCready was left shaking on the spot, eyes wide as he was left looking at the tunnel ahead that was  _ completely free of candles or benches _ . Not even a hint that they’d been there. Just that unending strange fog giving off its eerie glow.

 

_ What...the hell was... _

 

And Liam was stood frozen in front of him, staring straight ahead.

 

Drawing a shaky breath, he dared to whisper, “Did...you just see…”

 

“...candles?”

 

Shaky exhale. “Yea…” He nodded. “And…”

 

“...marble pews?”

 

_ Damn… _ “Yea…” He couldn’t keep the quiver out of his voice.

 

“...and you saw them too?”

 

“...yea…”

 

“... _ shit _ . So I’m  _ not _ going mad…” Wait. Liam had thought he was going crazy? “I’m not sure whether to be relieved or even more freaked out.” Neither did MacCready, frankly. “But...this means something really is going on down here.” The blonde’s feet started carrying him forward again. “You can still go if you want to…” He kept going. “But I’ve definitely gotta figure this out.

 

“...and then maybe cave this whole place in with a few grenades.”

 

That had to be the most sane thing Liam had suggested in the last hour.

 

But no way in hell was he letting him go on alone. Not if they were both having visions.

 

Hell, maybe they were both crazy.

 

He certainly felt crazy for following when  _ once again _ , there had been that chance to leave. No regrets. No begging to stay. Just a clean break.

 

He followed after Liam.

 

And raised his rifle as the ghouls swarmed again.

 

Liam seemed surprised at each one they took down, and MacCready wished he could see the expression on his face as he flinched as the next one came at them.

 

In total, there had been four. An oddly coincidental number really. He wondered…

 

Approaching one of the bodies, not fully trusting it to be dead, MacCready poked at it with his rifle, using the end of it turn the ghoul over. It didn’t even twitch, but that meant nothing. Still keeping his distance, the sniper leaned a little closer to check what seemed to be a nametag on the tattered remains of the shirt it had on.

 

He squinted at the faded and stained text he could just barely make out in the strange light. “Bob...Stanson…”

 

Liam’s head whipped towards him. “What did you just…?”

 

MacCready blinked, then looked down at the ghoul he was stooped over. He gestured with his rifle at it. “This ghoul here. Has a nametag or something and that’s what’s written on it.”

 

The blonde stared at him for a moment. It was starting to get unnerving...but then he turned towards another of the ghouls, nudging it over so he could check it as well. And drew a sharp breath. MacCready was about to ask what was wrong, but then he was moving on to the next ghoul. And then the next.

 

Slowly, he raised his head towards the cavern in front of them. “Bob Stanson, John Hatfield, Bradley Ramone...Tim Shoots... All the foremen they called down here, plus the one who knew what was going on...” MacCready could only watch quietly as the blonde carefully got back to his feet, knees cracking a bit as he did so. Still staring forward, Liam turned on his pipboy light.

 

MacCready flinched at the sudden brightness, blinking away the afterimages and dark spots that appeared. When his vision cleared, he saw Liam still staring straight ahead. That was...even more unnerving than when he was being stared at.

 

Hesitantly, he followed the blonde’s gaze…

 

And drew a breath at the cavern that was revealed.

 

This was the end of the tunnels. But that wasn’t the weird part. He could see the remains of cracked marble pews, mostly buried under loose rubble coming from the walls. But in the middle, under a rusted crane or wench type thing, broken chain still dangling above it…

 

“Something tells me that hole shouldn’t be there…”

 

It probably also shouldn’t be full of water.

 

Liam continued to stare ahead for a moment...but then looked back down at the ghoul at his feet. Or rather, something near it. Stooping quickly, he picked it up. A holotape.

 

Immediately, it was popped into his pipboy and the message began to play...

 

_ “...Tim...good job keeping things under wraps…” _

 

The voice continued on, noting how they “took his advice about inviting the other project managers to meet him at station four”, telling him to stall if needed…

 

_ “...we are very close to accomplishing our goal... _

 

_ “...please be patient. You will be rewarded in time…” _

 

The tape ended, ejecting itself from Liam’s pipboy as he stared at the water’s surface. “...ok, that settles it.” He lifted off his gas mask. MacCready’s eyes widened at the serious expression on the blonde’s face. The gas mask was dropped to the ground. Followed by his pack.

  
Wait. What was he--

 

Soon, a pile of armor had formed at the blonde’s feet. Joined shortly by a pair of boots and shirt, revealing a series of small scars across his torso that the sniper was actually surprised to see. (But made sense for Liam to have since he’d been a soldier before the Great War.)

 

He looked at MacCready suddenly, eyes still a bit narrowed. “If I’m not back in five minutes, take my stuff and run. Blow everything up behind you if you can, but make sure you  _ get out alive _ .”

 

_ What-- _

 

Without another word, Liam stepped to the edge of the pool, and dove in.

 

Dumbfounded, MacCready stared.

 

And stared.

 

Watched as the ripples settled on the surface of the water, light slowly dimming as Liam--and his pipboy--descended into the depths below.

 

…

 

MacCready shot to his feet.

 

“ _ Shit! _ ”

 

The forbidden word echoed off the cave walls, but no one was around to hear it.

 

_ squish squish k-thud _


	49. From Freaky Weird to just...Weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was on a writing spree and couldn't find a good spot to cut this, so have a longer chapter a day earlier than usual.  
> Happy Independence Day to any fellow Americans.
> 
> (Again. Titles. Just. _How do words?_ )

MacCready stared at the water.

 

Liam had said to leave after five minutes. How much time had gone by? Was it already five minutes?

 

He checked his watch.

 

Thirty seconds had passed since the last time he had looked.

 

But how much time had passed before that? When had Liam jumped in again? Should he really wait just five minutes?? Maybe he should wait longer...just in case…

 

He checked again.

 

Only twenty seconds this time.

 

_ Get ahold of yourself, MacCready. Liam is tough. He can take care of himself. He’s proven he can. Dodged a freaking  _ mini nuke _ , for crying out loud. A little swim isn’t going to hurt him. Even if...this place is driving you both...crazy… _

 

That weird squelching thud echoed through the walls again.

 

Had Liam been hearing it this whole time? No wonder he’d thought he was going mad. Or maybe MacCready was the one going mad now, and that sound was something only he could hear. He had no way of knowing. There was no one here to ask.

 

He checked his watch again.

 

A full minute had passed.

 

But, again, how long had Liam actually been down there? What if it was already five minutes and he was supposed to leave? What if he accidentally left early, blew the place up as he was told, and Liam had actually made it to the surface, only to be trapped down here forever?! He would’ve murdered his best fr--

 

MacCready drew a sharp breath.

 

Best friend. He’d been about to call Liam his best friend. Hell, he was one of the only friends he had right now. Everyone else he trusted was back in the Capital Wasteland, and before meeting Liam, the only people he’d really trusted up here were Hancock and Daisy (the irony of them both being ghouls was not lost on him). And despite all they’d done for him, neither had done as much as Liam had. No one else had helped him take out Winlocke and Barnes. Helped him save his son. Kept constant tabs on him while they were traveling, asked for his opinion on things, evenly split the loot so they’d both benefit…bickered and teased and kept him from dying when things they fell into went over their heads...

 

There was no doubt about it.

 

Liam was probably the best friend he’d ever had.

 

And there was no way in hell he was leaving this cave without him.

 

…

 

Was...it getting brighter in here suddenl--

 

The water’s surface broke with a giant splash--

 

MacCready nearly choked on his gasp.

 

\--as the completely soaked form of one blonde, overly curious vault dweller clambered onto the edge of the pool. There was a loud  _ clang _ as he practically threw some jagged strip of metal away from himself as he clawed his way on to dry land, coughing up lungfuls of water...before collapsing just a few feet away from the water’s edge, breathing harshly but otherwise not moving from the spot.

 

All the while, the pipboy on his wrist was clicking a mile a minute.

 

Shaking himself from his shock, the sniper shot forward, reaching Liam and carefully rolling him onto his back--being mindful of the crazy-looking blade thing thrown a few feet away.  _ Where had that even come from? _

 

Liam hardly reacted to the movement, only continuing to breath harshly, coughing occasionally as a bit of water still remained in his lungs. He stared almost glassily up at the rocky ceiling, blinking dimly up at it. MacCready reached for the pipboy around the blonde’s wrist as the clicking subsided.

 

_ Shit _ \--Duncan forgive him--his rad levels were off the charts!

 

He quickly reached for his pack, searching frantically for the radaway he knew was in there just as shivers began to wrack Liam’s body, the harsh breaths he took becoming even harsher. Whether from the rads, the drying water cooling his skin, or just shock in general, MacCready didn’t know. But he paused long enough to pull off his duster without thinking, draping it over the blonde before he went back to his search. Had to get his rad levels down fast before it did any permanent damage.

 

Luckily enough, he found a few packs--maybe they should get more soon if this became a regular problem; you could never have enough radaway--administering the medicine with the practiced ease born of wasteland necessity.

 

Now all he could do was wait. Wait for the radaway to do its thing and all dangers of shock--and nearly drowning if all that water Liam had coughed up was anything to go by--to pass. He really wasn’t happy about doing that, but until the danger passed, Liam shouldn’t be moved. He just hoped the occasional rumbling from the walls and that freaky squelching didn’t mean there was something more dangerous down here.

 

_ Definitely blowing this place up on our way out. Wonder how many mines Liam has. Hopefully he’ll be ok with sacrificing a few...dozen. _

 

Finally, what seemed like an eternity later, the blonde groaned, blinking heavily as he brought a hand up rub at his brow.  _ “Fuck… _ ” He coughed lightly. “Remind me...never to do that again… Not without a lot more rad-x. And mirelurk cake. Heard that stuff’s supposed to...let you breathe underwater...”

 

Well. He was sounding more sane at least. So that was something. But still...

 

“The hell did you think you were doing anyway, diving in there like that?!”

 

Liam winced a bit at the harsh words, making the sniper feel a little guilty. But only a little. “I don’t know,” the blonde breathed out on a shaky exhale. “I just...needed to see what was down there.” He sounded pretty tired. “This place is just… I swear there’s something...supernatural about it.”

 

MacCready frowned at him a moment longer...then sighed. “So what  _ was _ down there anyway?” Might as well know. His partner had risked his life diving down into a dark watery pit. If there was a reason for it, it better be a good one.

 

Liam blinked. Then turned his head a few times in an attempt to search for...something. “Where did…” MacCready protested as he tried to sit up, to no avail as he was ignored, Liam groaning quietly as he finally managed to get his upper body mostly off the ground. Looking around again, bordering on frantic, the blonde’s brows hitched up as he finally stopped his searching. “Ah. There it is.”

 

Furrowing his own brow, the sniper followed his gaze until his eyes fell upon the target. A...jagged piece of metal attached to a handle. Come to think of it, Liam  _ had _ tossed something metallic onto the ground when he broke the water’s surface…

 

Reaching for it cautiously as if it would bite, he hesitated, fingers hovering for a second before they closed over the grip, bringing it over for closer inspection.

 

It was some kind of weird sword like he’d suspected. But...only in the loosest of definitions. It was like no sword he’d seen before, this one having the most uneven of blades. Like someone had hacked up a much better made weapon until they’d been left with this jagged shrapnel that looked ready to bite into whatever it was swung at. He bet getting hit with it would be no picnic.

 

“Found it down there,” Liam jerked his chin towards the pit, “on an altar if you can believe. There’s some sort of tunnel that goes off the bottom and leads into this carved out room. Like a shrine. Place of worship or something; pretty creepy. And...I’d be careful handling that if I were you. It was sitting between two mini nukes.”

 

MacCready almost dropped it right then. Stared at Liam with wide eyes, thinking he had to be joking.

 

While the blonde looked amused at his reaction, the smirk hardly reached his eyes.

 

He was completely serious.

 

_ Shi-- _

 

“Should you really have taken this then?” He looked back and forth between the blonde and the blade, about ready to toss it back into the hole.

 

Said blonde just shrugged. “I don’t know. Nothing seemed to happen when I touched it. And I figured, we came all this way; might as well come out of it with something. So…” He gestured towards the wicked-looking thing. “There’s our something I guess.” Pause. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t throw it away. I risked my life for that thing, after all,” he joked.

 

How could he be so nonchalant about something so serious?!

 

The thought must have been showing on his face, because all traces of smirks and amusement slid off of Liam’s face. He looked away almost guiltily, running a hand through his still-damp hair with a sigh. “Yea, I know… It was stupid of me to dive down there. Like I said, this place is just…” He trailed off, shaking his head. “Swear I still hear weird noises coming from the walls. I was...hearing them for awhile actually...” he admitted hesitantly.

 

But that was a relief, because it meant it wasn’t just him then. “...I started hearing things a little while ago.” MacCready wasn’t sure why he felt the need to say that, but he did anyway.

 

Liam looked at him, startled for a second. “Really. That’s… I’m not actually sure what to say to that. But maybe we should get out of here now.” With that, he started trying to get to his feet.

 

The sniper reached out to stop him, only remembering the blonde was still shirtless when his hand made contact with bare shoulder. “Uhh…”  _ Words, MacCready. _ “Maybe you shouldn’t be moving just yet. You took a lot of rads down there. Might wanna rest a little longer.”

 

“I’d rather rest outside of this cave.” Despite his words, Liam stayed still under his hand.

 

...oh. Right. His hand was still on Liam’s shoulder. His _ bare _ shoulder. Maybe he should remove it.

 

If he snatched it back a little quicker than normal, the blonde didn’t comment. Instead, he carefully gathered up the leather duster that had pooled in his lap and held it out for the sniper to take. Although...he didn’t quite make eye contact. “And...thanks. For this.”

 

The awkwardness in the air suddenly was so thick he swore the freaky sword could cut it. Though it could probably cut anything.

 

Feeling just as awkward as Liam apparently was, MacCready took the duster back, shaking bits of water off of it so he could put it back on without getting soaked himself. He couldn’t keep from asking as as Liam leaned over to reach where he’d dropped his stuff by his pack, “Is this going to become a regular thing or something? You getting your as--ah...butt kicked by whatever, and me needing to pick up the pieces?”

 

Liam paused in the middle of putting on his shirt, looking at the sniper quietly for a moment...before sighing and pulling it on the rest of the way. “I don’t know. Maybe? I’d prefer to say ‘no’, but…” He looked out over the water reflecting the glow of his pipboy light, hand lingering at one of his front pockets. “There’s always going to be something too dangerous I need to head into. Anything could be out there waiting to kill me. I’ve been to war, Mac; this is nothing new. Besides...I won’t have that choice when I go into the Glowing Sea. If something like,” he jerked his chin towards the pit, but MacCready got the feeling he was referring to the whole tunnel system, “this is too much? Then I might as well give up now and stop trying to get my son back.”

 

MacCready winced. “I wasn’t telling you to--...” He let out a breath that was somewhere between a sigh and a growl. “Ok. Yea. I see your point.”

 

The blonde’s serious expression softened some. “I’m not...trying to get myself killed. It’s just sometimes there’s no way to avoid dangerous situations. Always the chance something bad could happen.”

 

_ Oh, don’t I know that well. _ He started to reach for the wooden soldier hidden in his front pocket.

 

Liam continued, not noticing or choosing not to comment on what MacCready was doing. “I’ll...think twice and try to be more careful next time a place like this comes up, though, alright?” Yea, that was pretty much all he could hope for, wasn’t it. “And I’ll say it again. I’m not forcing you to follow me. You can leave any time you want if you’re not comfortable with what I’m doing.”

 

MacCready frowned, that same stubbornness he’d felt before bubbling up to the surface again. “And I promised I’d stick with you, remember? So like it or not, you’re stuck with me.” Why the hell was he so adamant about this? Was this really because he considered Liam his best friend?

 

The blonde just stared at him for a moment--and were his eyes shining more brightly than usual?--but then he was just shaking his head a bit, looking at him as if he were some strange puzzle. “Alright. If you insist.

 

“But if it’s all the same, I’d rather not spend any more time down here than we have already.”

 

\---

 

They took the freaky sword with them.

 

Liam had found enough spare rags in his pack to wrap around the thing so neither of them would accidentally cut themselves on it, stuffed it carefully into said pack, and off they’d went.

 

Leaving a trail of spaced out mines behind them.

 

MacCready had insisted, and Liam had all too readily agreed to this plan.

 

Though he might’ve scared the sniper with just how many mines he’d acquired. Even if they did have to get creative by filling some of the gaps with grenades and other combustible-looking things they found on their way back. Hopefully it would be enough to collapse a good portion of the tunnels, if not all of it.

 

He was still feeling a bit beaten down by his foray into the irradiated (again), but the thought of closing off this quarry and putting some distance between it and them was a good motivator to get this done.

 

Having the sun hit you harshly in the face after being underground was another way.

 

“Shit. We skipped another night of sleep,” Liam pointed out. “Guess this is going to be another one of those regular things, huh.”

 

He got barely a grunt as a response. He could relate.

 

Cresting the lip of the quarry, he turned to survey their work, pulling out his sniper rifle to get an eye on the last mine they’d placed. He could just barely make out the red dots signifying an active frag. He lowered the scope from his eye again. “Ok. So we’re set to go. Probably wanna move back a bit further before we do thi--”

 

_ Bang! _

 

Both their rifles were up and in the “ready to fire” position before either of them could think about it.

 

“...or we could figure out what the hell that was first,” Liam concluded.

 

Where had that shot come from??

 

Since neither of them appeared to be injured, and it hadn’t bounced off any of the nearby dirt or rock, he could only conclude it hadn’t been aimed their way. And it was a single shot. Rather ominous…

 

“Hey…” He turned at MacCready’s call, seeing him pointing off towards something nearby. “There’s something over there.”

 

A short distance away from one of the watchtowers, a series of massive cut blocks was stacked up. It wouldn’t be too unusual to see such a thing near a quarry, if it wasn’t for the fact it was the only pile. And…

 

Liam squinted.

 

…if it didn’t appear to have a turret chugging away just visible through one of the gaps.

 

“Ok... That’s kind of weird...” He frowned, turning towards the sniper again. “Think we should check it out?”

 

MacCready just stared.

 

“...yea, I know. I said I wouldn’t just rush into dangerous things.” He ducked his head almost sheepishly, remembering his own words from down in the quarry. “But what if there’s another raider hiding in there?” He injected his best ‘argumentative tone’ into his voice. “We did promise to take them out after all.”

 

MacCready kept staring.

 

And finally relented with a sigh. “Fine. But we’re going in there carefully, and we’re still blowing up this mine right after.”

 

Liam simply smirked at that. “Of course. I wouldn’t deny the opportunity to blow up a shithole like this. I’ll even let you do the honors since you’re the better shot.” Because recon scope or no, with the distance they’d be moving back, that would be a downright challenging target.

 

Rifles ready, they approached the stack of giant white blocks.

 

\---

 

_ Boom! _

 

The turret flew apart from where MacCready had aimed into the gap.

 

Liam whistled appreciatively. “Nice one.”

 

The sniper lowered his rifle. “Child’s play.” Despite the downplay of his words, he couldn’t help feeling a swell of pride. He’d impressed his friend; he was allowed to be prideful.

 

“Hey…” He was snapped out of his thoughts by Liam waving him over. When had he gotten closer to the rocks? Cursing himself for getting distracted, he jogged over to join the blonde, looking at the way into the rocks he’d spotted.

 

Liam pointed ahead with a jerk of his chin (though with the gas mask, it was more like he was pointing with the filter jutting from the front; it was kind of silly). “Think whoever’s here isn’t big on entertaining guests?”

 

MacCready snorted. “Unless this  _ is _ their idea of ‘entertaining’...”

 

The whole way in was crisscrossed with tripwires.

 

His partner hummed appreciatively, and maybe with a little more interest than he was happy with. “How about we go ‘introduce’ ourselves…” With that, the blonde stepped forward into the shade of the white blocks of stone.

 

And systematically went about disabling every single tripwire (and makeshift bomb that went with it). The sniper stared after him, dubious...before slowly shaking his head and following in his wake.

 

“So...how many explosives do you think one guy needs?”  _ Snap. Snip.  _ “Think half a dozen is too many?”  _ Snip. _ “How about seven?”  _ Snap.  _ “Eight.”  _ Twang.  _ “Maybe nine?”

 

It was getting pretty hard to stay serious with Liam’s running commentary. Perhaps a lack of sleep had something to do with it. Hell, he didn’t know how either of them were still on their feet after the last couple of days they’d had.

 

“Think I might have a rival here.” The blonde pocketed a few more springs gathered from another trap. “Gonna need to find a lot more mines if I want to keep up.”

 

MacCready gave a wry smile. “I think one psycho with explosives is more than enough in this world.”

 

“Oh? ...ok, yea, maybe. Bit of a dying breed, though, what with all those supermutants nuking themselves…” Liam stooped to pick through the pile of debris that had once been the turret that the sniper had, well, sniped.

 

He tried not to roll his eyes at his partner’s antics, instead keeping on alert and wondering why it was far too quiet. It would give the feeling of ambush, but for some reason his gut wasn’t giving any warning signs.

 

“Bet Callaghan would have a field day with these…”

 

MacCready blinked, unsure if Liam had even been talking to him or just commenting to himself out loud. But now he was curious. “Who...?”

 

“Hm?” The blonde glanced over, as if he’d forgotten he wasn’t alone. “Oh. Ah, guy from my army days.” He got back to his feet, knees popping a bit as he straightened and headed for the next bomb. “Always went on about the ‘merits of well-placed explosives’. Kept trying to convince me of how useful a demolitions expert would be on my team.” Liam shook his head. “Not on a stealth squad, I kept trying to tell him. Wasn’t our style. The idea was to get in undetected and get things done quietly; not cause a big commotion. Not sure I got that through his skull though.” He paused, looking off into the distance for a moment. “Wonder what happened to him anyway…” Then shook his head. “Guess it doesn’t matter. Would’ve been over two hundred years ago.” He paused again. “Still hard to believe it’s been that long actually…”

 

…

 

It was.

 

Hell, somehow the sniper kept forgetting Liam was from before the war. He just fit into this world somehow. And yet...also didn’t? But it was more in the same way MacCready didn’t fit in. That he was from out of town originally. He wasn’t even sure if Liam had a Bostonian accent…

 

“So where are you from anyway?” he found himself asking before he could stop himself.

 

Liam stopped in his tracks...and gave off the distinct impression that he was exaggeratedly raising his eyebrow as he slowly tilted his head at the sniper. “Well that came out of nowhere. There a reason you wanna know? Not that I’m bothered by you asking or anything, but…” he trailed off with a shrug.

 

MacCready felt his face heating up. “I--I don’t know. I just--wondered, ok? You don’t sound like anyone from this area is all.”  _ Way to shove your foot in it, MacCready. _

 

Apparently that was good enough for Liam, though. (Or he was just amused; who could say.) Because soon enough the blonde stopped staring at him and no longer gave off the impression he was raising his brow. Though there was a hint of a smirk in his voice. “Grew up in Virginia, if you can believe. So...probably not that far from where you’re from, actually…”

 

...huh. Not the response he would’ve expected. “So how you’d end up in Boston?” Why was he so curious?

 

Liam didn’t seem to mind, again just seeming amused. “It was right after I got promoted. Corporal Liam O’Keeffe, at your service.” He mock saluted. “But...yea. They transferred me up here, set me up with a specialized squad--Shadow Squad, we were called; bet you can guess why--and...I found my reason to stick around the area after my service ended.” There was a bittersweet someberness there, something he wasn’t saying. But MacCready felt like he’d pushed it far enough, so he didn’t pry into it (there were already a few theories swirling around his head though). Instead, he went a different route, curiosity apparently not sated.

 

“Corporal, huh? That’s quite a ways off General, isn’t it.”

 

The blonde snorted, seemingly relieved that the sniper hadn’t delved further into the vague statement. “Tell me about it. And don’t forget I’m not just taking over the job; I’m helping rebuild the whole army from the ground up.”

 

Yea...that sounded...yea… “No pressure or anything.”

 

“Ha! Nope, none at all.”

 

“Well, you seem to be doing a good job of it if people are coming to recognize and rely on the Minutemen for help again.” The praise had left his mouth before he realized...but MacCready found he meant the words, surprisingly enough.

 

Liam stared. And was he imagining it, or were the guy’s ears turning red? “Huh...well...thanks. I just hope I don’t screw this up.”

 

_ I don’t think you will. _ This time, he managed to keep the words contained.

 

Which was made easier by them finding the cause of the random gunshot, lying facedown on a dirty mattress.


	50. So much for being more careful...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even if Liam didn't go looking for trouble, it just seemed to be everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was almost short, but I managed to get out enough for it to be a normal length.  
> And hey, 50 chapters now. =D I don't know how I managed that.

A raider lying facedown on a dirty mattress.

 

It might’ve been the start of some morbid joke. If you had that kind of sense of humor...

 

The two of them stared at the dead guy.

 

Just...stared.

 

It certainly explained why there hadn’t been a reaction after that turret had blown up. Because the dead don’t (normally) react.

 

MacCready was the first to break the silence that had developed at the discovery. “Guess you were right about there being another raider…”

 

“What’s this guy doing over here anyway? And keeping everyone out…” Liam glanced back the way they had come, remnants of the tripwires he had disarmed still littering the stone. “And…” he turned back to the dirty mattress, further stained by a spray of red that had partially hit the wall. “...killing himself apparently?” he concluded, having spotted a pistol lying close to the dead raider’s hand. The cause of the gunshot that had originally drawn their attention.

 

MacCready hadn’t taken his eyes off the still form, scrutinizing it. “We’re still pretty close to Dunwich,” he pointed out. “That place is-- Well, it’s gotta be messing with anyone who goes in there, right? I mean…” He finally looked away, turning his attention to the blonde. “They did have the bottom area chained off. They knew something was going on. Isn’t right down there. Could be this guy got messed up by it, or was trying to keep the ones who did get messed up away.”

 

Good points.

 

“Well…” Liam tilted his head. “It’s possible we’ll get some answers.” The sniper opened his mouth as if he was about to ask how, but closed it as the blonde continued, stepping closer and picking something up from a nearby table.

 

A holotape.

 

Sending the sniper a glance, he popped it into his pipboy.

 

_“...they don’t bother me anymore. That’s good-- What was that? Don’t they read the signs?!”_

 

“...” Liam turned slowly to look at MacCready as the sniper did the same, the ramblings of an apparent madman continuing to play from the recording.

 

_“...no. That wouldn’t be what it wants…_

 

_“...time to end it all. ...it’s lying next to me…_

 

_“...it’s loaded…”_

 

The tape ended.

 

Frowning at his pipboy and feeling more than somewhat disturbed, the blonde looked over at the dead guy again. Then the blood splatter on the wall. The pistol lying near his hand. And back towards the sniper. “Well...we have our answers here I guess.”

 

“...yea...” MacCready sounded equally disturbed, staring at the body in a new light. “I guess so...”

 

“...

 

“Let’s just go blow up that mine now. I’ve had enough of this place.”

 

“Right behind you. Just tell me when to shoot…”

 

\---

 

_\--boom_ **_boom_ ** _boom_ **_boomBOOMBOOOMMMM--_ **

 

It was like the worst earthquake imaginable (if MacCready had ever experienced an actual earthquake), or if someone had set off an entire crate of mini nukes, blown up a car, _and_ decided to throw a crashing vertibird on top of it.

 

The ground shook with so much force as each explosion took deep down in the depths of the tunnels below that he’d actually stumbled into Liam a couple of times. Hell, nearly taken him down with him the one time. (Followed by stammering out an apology while trying not to make eye contact, while just getting an amused dismissal of said apology right after.)

 

Finally, the rumblings stopped.

 

MacCready brought his scope to his eye, taking in the rubble that had piled down into the bottom of the main quarry pit. The fallen scaffolding crumpled and detached from the walls. A bit of dust and smoke rising up not far from where he knew the tunnels’ entrance was…

 

Good riddance.

 

“And that takes care of that,” Liam verbally confirmed from beside him. He brought up his pipboy, looking down at it. “Hm. Day’s already mostly over. Think we’ll find a place to camp out here?” The blonde raised his head again to survey the area.

 

The sniper frowned, doing the same. “I don’t know. There isn’t really much around, and I don’t like the idea of sleeping close to this place.”

 

“Yea, I hear you there.” The gas mask pointed off in the opposite direction of the sun. “There are some buildings that way. Might be able to reach them before it gets dark. And…” he looked down at his pipboy again, clicking through it. “...there is something over there I wanted to check out anyway. Heard some rumors about it awhile back.”

 

MacCready’s frown deepened. “What kind of rumors?”

 

“Something going on at the Museum of Witchcraft. Nothing specific. Just…‘big’ apparently.”

 

“...the hell does that mean?” ‘Big’? That was too vague. If it was some _thing_ , then that could be a number of different creatures or even weapons. Hell, a pre-war artifact could be considered ‘big’ depending on who you talked to. Or there could be some scenario going on. A conflict of some sort. Whatever the case, it was not sitting well with MacCreay’s gut. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Besides, you said you’d be more careful.” _Why am I even so concerned? Yea, he’s your best friend, MacCready, but...that doesn’t make you the boss of him. He’s allowed to do what he wants. Even if it is reckless._

 

Liam huffed. “I _am_ going to be careful. Doesn’t mean I’ll stop exploring, though. Besides, if it’s a rumor going around, then someone else is liable to head over there at some point anyway. Might as well end the rumor in case it does end up dangerous.”

 

…

 

Damn it, he had a good point. Although…

 

“So that means it’s gotta be us?” he shot back incredulously.

 

“Well…” Liam looked away. “I am the General of the Minutemen. It’s kind of part of my job to seek out potential settlements in the Commonwealth and make it safer in general… This...kind of falls up my alley.”

 

An even better point.

 

…

 

_Argh…_

 

MacCready huffed, letting out a resigned, “ _Fine._ But we’re being careful. First sign of it being over our heads, we get out of there. Got it?”

 

Liam regarded him silently for a moment. He could feel the blonde’s eyes boring into him thoughtfully, almost causing him to squirm...before his partner finally nodded. “Fine. But,” he held up a finger. “If it looks like a potential danger to the Commonwealth is in there, we find a way to end it if we can. Deal?”

 

MacCready stared, regarding the blonde in return. He got stared back at just as silently. Finally, he sighed. “Fine.”

 

Almost feeling the smirk that pulled coming from behind that gas mask, Liam nodded. “Alright then.” He pulled up his pipboy, already heading east, towards the buildings in the distance. “We better hurry and find a place to camp. There isn’t a whole lot of time before it reaches midnight and I don’t wanna miss it.”

 

…

 

Wait. Had he just said…

 

“...midnight??”

 

“Well yea. It’s the Museum of _Witchcraft_. You gotta go there at midnight. It’s only right.”

 

…

 

MacCready wasn’t so sure of that.

 

As unsure of why he was sticking around.

 

...or even why he considered Liam his best friend.

 

_I’m as crazy as he is, aren’t I…_

 

\---

 

It was clearly visible from here.

 

Going straight east, crossing over grassy terrain and a bit of forest, they’d come across a spot that had obviously been used for camping a few times if the canopy tied into the trees as a makeshift shelter was anything to go by. And just past the treeline, the older style stone building that had to be the Museum of Witchcraft sat, stained in an orange glow from the setting sun.

 

“I don’t see why we can’t just go in there now.”

 

Liam turned towards the semi-annoyed quip that had been thrown his way. “I told you. It’s only right. All about setting a mood.” By the stare MacCready was shooting him, he still didn’t get it. Oh well. He shrugged. “Maybe it’s just an old world thing and I’m being weird. I don’t really care.

 

“Besides, we could use a break before we go in there. I’m feeling pretty shattered…,” he reluctantly admitted. “And I know for a fact that you hardly slept last night, which puts you on almost no sleep for two or three days now. That said, I’m taking first watch. No arguments.”

 

MacCready’s mouth snapped shut on his protest, a scowl taking its place as he huffed.

 

The fact he barely grumbled as he set up his bedroll spoke volumes.

 

The fact his breathing leveled out and deepened in mere minutes said more.

 

Shaking his head fondly at the sleeping form, Liam turned his attention back towards the museum, wondering what could be in there. He’d wanted to visit it for awhile now; not just since the rumor. But before the war. Hell, Salem itself had always been a curiosity. It was a shame that he’d lost his chance to see it in its glory and was reduced to visiting it when it was likely half-destroyed.

 

Ah well. No use dwelling on what he couldn’t change. All he could do now was see things as they currently were. And there were a lot of places he hadn’t been yet; even before the war.

 

But he should stop drifting off into his thoughts. Right now, he had a job to do.

 

Keeping his rifle at the ready, Liam sent another glance towards MacCready, seeing the sniper still sleeping peacefully enough. He almost hated to wake him in a few hours. But they both needed rest, and he was adamant about going into the museum at midnight.

 

Even if it was silly.

 

...maybe he really had watched too many of those “ghost explorer” shows.

 

Liam huffed to himself, almost smiling as he could perfectly picture Nora rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him for his antics. And then going along with it herself.

 

He allowed himself a glance at the wedding band still sitting securely on his finger...before finally forcing himself to focus on keeping watch.

 

\---

 

This was silly.

 

What were they doing, sneaking up on an old building at midnight of all times--and he’d told Liam he hated traveling at night, who merely pointed out they weren’t “traveling”; they were “just checking this out” and could stop to rest again after. This was just…“crazy” didn’t really cover it; “silly” was an understatement.

 

It was ludicrous, is what it was.

 

But Liam didn’t seem to care. He’d insisted on midnight, and in a lapse of sanity, MacCready had given in and gone along with it. So here they were, wandering around outside an old building, trying to find their way in after finding the front door barred--and wasn’t that just welcoming as hell?--to see what the big rumor was about this place and find out if it was dangerous. As if the front door being barred wasn’t proof enough…

 

But no, Liam wanted to try to clear it out if it was dangerous--how could he forget that?--so that meant they still needed to get in to at least look. Of course, because it was midnight, that meant it was also dark as hell, and that meant stumbling around in said dark looking for a possible entrance that wasn’t currently blocked.

 

MacCready held back a curse as a scraggly bush tugged at his duster as they passed it.

 

Did he mention he hated traveling at night?

 

“Aha,” he heard Liam exclaim quietly, having apparently found a basement hatch. MacCready crossed his fingers that it was barred too.

 

The hatch lifted with a mild _creak_.

 

Damn it.

 

“Now I really feel like I’m in one of those ghost hunter shows…” he heard Liam mutter.

 

…

 

He resisted the urge to ask.

 

Or think about ghosts.

 

…

 

_Stop thinking about ghosts!_

 

Teeth grit tight, he followed Liam down into the darkened interior, the little bit of moonlight soon cut off by the gloom below.

 

\---

 

It was brighter than he expected.

 

A few of the lights in the basement were still flickering with life after all this time. Of course, they didn’t give off _much_ light, further darkening the parts that weren’t lit. Definitely made for a creepy vibe, and increased that “haunted” feel. It was probably all his imagination though--

 

_snrrrrl_

 

Liam froze.

 

_FWMP_

 

_FWMP_

 

_FWMP_

 

And slowly turned his eyes towards the ceiling, watching as dust cascaded free with every heavy thump that traveled across the floor above, almost like--

 

“ _That_ would be a deathclaw,” he heard from somewhere behind him in a jittery voice, “which means _we_ should get the hell out of here...”

 

“...”

 

He turned his head just as slowly back towards the sniper that had frozen up along with him, shooting his own wide-eyed scowl at the ceiling.

 

The heavy thumps and growls continued to move somewhere away from them in the building above.

 

...

 

...well.

 

Not ghosts.

 

But definitely haunted.

 

Just…

 

A different kind of haunted.

 

This was not the “ghost adventure” he had signed up for.

 

But Liam got the feeling it was too late to back out now.


	51. Witch Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which there aren't any witches.

_ Why is there a deathclaw in here?! _

 

_...and why the hell am I not leaving?? _

 

Liam was mentally questioning his motivation in life as he slowly began to creep his way forward farther into the basement, occasionally flicking his gaze to the ceiling as if expecting a giant clawed appendage to come smashing through at any second. He heard an even more hesitant shift along the dusty floor behind him.

 

Pausing, he craned his head back, seeing MacCready still hovering close to the stairs that had led them down here from the basement hatch, an uncertain scowl on his face as wide eyes darted from the ceiling and back down again.

 

Liam frowned to himself, guilt-laced concern washing over him. “You don’t…” he nearly jumped at his own whisper, lowering his voice even further as his eyes flicked upwards again. “You don’t need to come with me for this. I admit it; this was stupid. We don’t both need to deal with my stupidity.”

 

But that just directed the scowl at him now. MacCready almost  _ glared _ ...before pointedly stepping forward again, keeping his pace until he caught up with Liam. ...who just blinked as the sniper kept going, overtaking him as he headed for the doorway ahead that led further on.

 

And then jumped back as something flopped to the floor as another  _ growllll _ sounded from somewhere above.

 

_ FWMP _

 

_ FWMP _

 

_ FWMP _

 

Slowly, the heavy thuds moved away again.

 

Liam remembered how to breathe, the air rushing out of him as he did so and tried not to gasp it back in. Carefully, oh-so-carefully, he crept forward to where the frozen sniper still half-crouched, standing within the doorway. Still being careful, he leaned around him a bit to see what had fallen and from where--

 

Ok, that was an arm. A bit of tattered cloth still clung to it.

 

And for a second there, he could almost picture a watch strapped around a thin wrist...but then he blinked and it was gone.

 

Liam’s stomach lurched.

 

“...you...you saw that, right?” MacCready could barely get the words out he was so jittery.

 

The blonde nodded just as shakily. “Yea…” Still staring ahead, he continued. “I’m...completely serious. You don’t have to stick around. It...probably already knows someone is here, so there’s no use risking us both trying to get away. But if it’s just one of us who escapes while the other keeps its attention, then…”

 

The sniper almost cut him off with his next words, a growl of his own accompanying them. “No way. I said I’d find a way to repay my debt, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”

 

\---

 

_ Besides, Duncan is no longer in danger, and you still have your own son to save. You need to get out of here alive. _

 

“But at the risk of your own life?” Liam shot back, barely keeping his voice down.

 

“What do you think being a merc means?” MacCready shot in return, barely holding his volume in check as well. “Every job I could be risking my life. Only difference there is the jobs don’t last as long, I have an idea of what’s coming, and I don’t like who I’m traveling with.”

 

He snapped his jaw shut, face darkening a bit as he registered what he’d said.

 

_ ‘...like who I’m traveling with’... Shit. _ (Duncan forgive him.)

 

Did he actually... _ like _ Liam? Not just “friend” like, as in best friend. But... _ like _ like?

 

_ Maybe he didn’t notice? Maybe he didn’t pick up on it like that. Or at all. _

 

Except Liam had been quiet for awhile now, and who was he kidding? Of course Liam noticed. The guy was oblivious about their surroundings half the time, but in picking out details in conversations? No hiding anything.

 

“...alright,” Liam finally spoke, somewhat subdued, but relenting (and mercifully not commenting on MacCready’s somewhat slip). “But I’d prefer if you stay back at least.” He paused, sighing out his next breath as if holding back what he’d wanted to say. Another glance was sent the sniper’s way before the blonde gestured ahead into the darkness. “Come on. Let’s go find this thing.

 

“Before it finds us.”

 

\---

 

The rest of the basement wasn’t any more pleasant.

 

It was still mostly dark, only lit up by the occasional candle or lantern that was somehow still burning. Possibly remnants of the deathclaw’s “dinner guests”. (Liam tried not to shudder at the thought, hoping to avoid that fate.) It was also very reminiscent of Dunwich, what with the way the building would rumble from time to time from the beast above shifting, or even just the building itself settling.

 

Liam found himself thinking,  _ Why am I not leaving? _ and,  _ Why am I so psycho? _ as they went further on. Especially after both jumped back from another skid across the floor accompanied by growls. And even answering himself,  _ Maybe because this thing is eating people, and that means it might go hunting when it’s done with this place, and won’t  _ that _ be great for anyone checking out the area for a possible settlement? _

 

Except…

 

He nearly tripped on something in the pitch dark of one of the rooms, where he could just barely make out stairs ahead.

 

Looking down, he squinted at what had caught the toe of his boot.

 

An arm.

 

...attached to a battered body...

 

...that happened to be part of a pile of other bodies.

 

Liam stared in silent horror.

 

And then jumped back in alarm, bumping into MacCready as he did so, who grunted out in surprise as he was shoved back, joining him in his shock as another body was ceremoniously dropped from a hole in the ceiling.

 

More grunts and growls from the beast and loud heavy thuds moved away as the floor creaked in protest.

 

...it wasn’t eating people.

 

It was fucking  _ mangling _ them.

 

_ Shit. _

 

Liam stared at the gore a few feet away, barely able to breathe. On the edge of beginning to panic. But he just managed to hold it in check as he forced out his words. “Sure you still wanna come with me? You could just...stay down here if you want.” How had his voice not come out higher pitched??

 

It took the sniper a second to respond, his words not able to hide the jitters that Liam’s had wanted to have. “No.” He cleared his throat, trying again, managing a steadier tone this time. “ _ No _ . I’m...still going to come up there with you. There’s...no way I’m letting you handle that...thing on your own.” Steadi _ er _ , but not calm, per se.

 

“...right. Ok.” Liam blinked, turning to rifle through his pack.

 

“What’re you…?”

 

“I have a flamethrower in here somewhere. Wondering if it might be the time to whip it out…”

 

“... _ what? _ ” MacCready almost squeaked. “ _ Are you crazy? _ ”

 

Liam stopped his search, pursing his lips in thought. “...yea, you’re probably right. Might set this whole building off, and I’d rather not burn myself alive.” He paused, deliberating for a moment...before pulling out the sniper rifle instead. .50 cals had worked before; hopefully they’d be enough again. “Ok. Let’s just...go see what we’re actually dealing with then, shall we.”

 

With that, they made their way--mostly through touch alone since it was still dark as hell in this part of the basement--up the stairs, wincing at every creak and squeak they made.

 

\---

 

That was a dead Gunner.

 

It was the first thing MacCready had noticed when they made it upstairs.

 

Liam had cracked open the door at the top of the stairs, and they’d been face to face with the very dead guy that was slumped in a corner, a missile launcher lying useless by his feet.

 

That was a great sign.

 

There were also a lot of mannequins up here, set up in various scenes with spotlights still shining brightly down on them. They were kind of creepy...

 

But no deathclaw.

 

Not even the sounds from earlier. This gave off signs of “ambush”--except he was pretty sure deathclaws didn’t operate like that.

 

Hell, the only signs there had been one was the “redecorating” it had apparently done. Entire walls torn down to make the space more open; the bloody remains of a few figures that hadn’t quite made it through the hole in the floor above the body pile (he suppressed a shudder)…

 

Only a few sections of wall remained. MacCready’s eyes immediately went to those, calculating how good of cover they might make...but mentally cursing that they would only work as cover if they could figure out the direction the deathclaw would be coming from. Which there was no way of doing if they couldn’t find the thing.

 

He could almost hear Liam frowning as he surveyed the scene as well. Apparently satisfied--or just as  _ un _ satisfied as the sniper was about not finding their target--he turned to look back over his shoulder, gesturing for MacCready to follow with a flick of his chin--or gas mask, rather.

 

Swallowing back his unease, and the general feeling his gut was sending him of, “What are you doing, you idiot?  _ Get out of there! _ ” MacCready reluctantly followed, doing his best to step where Liam was stepping so his boots might stay just as silent. He thought he was doing pretty well.

 

_ Grrrrrrr _

 

...or not?

 

MacCready froze at the same time Liam did.

 

And snapped his attention forward, towards one of the intact sections of wall, just as a huge figure loomed out from the shadows.

 

And  _ shit _ (Duncan was going to have to do a lot of forgiving if he made it out of here alive). That had to be the biggest deathclaw he had ever seen in his entire life.

 

\---

 

Shit.

 

_ Shit. _

 

_ shitshitshitshitshitshitshit _

 

It was the only word going through Liam’s head the moment the huge scaly thing finally revealed itself, and he nearly locked up in place and would’ve been an easy target--

 

Except he snapped himself out of it, military-honed calm washing over him just enough for him to regain his senses and start backing towards the wall to the right that was still standing firm.

 

It hadn’t seen them. Maybe if they stuck to the shadows, it would continue to not see them, and then they could launch a surprise attack, nailing it in the joints where it would be weaker. Slow it down like the deathclaw in Natick. Make it fall over so it couldn’t charge.

 

Daring to take his eyes off the slowly approaching claw, Liam turned his head…

 

...and nearly cursed out loud.

 

MacCready hadn’t moved. He was still--luckily laying low as they’d been the whole time--glued to the spot, looking like a deer in the headlights.

 

Flicking his eyes towards the beast, he calculated how far away it was, noting that it wasn’t heading directly for them. Still a little time.

 

So Liam quickly but quietly lunged for the sniper, snatching his arm and all but dragging him back towards the wall, throwing an arm against him so he’d stay back in the shadows out of sight.

 

His head whipped towards the deathclaw again at a snort.

 

It had stopped. But it was looking around now. Licking the air. Had it heard them? Pulling the sniper into the shadows hadn’t exactly been a quiet affair.

 

Liam didn’t dare breathe. He couldn’t tell if MacCready was either, but also didn’t dare to check on him. Though he did notice how fast the sniper’s heart was pounding, what with his arm still being pressed to the guy’s chest to keep him in cover. He seemed skinnier than the duster hinted a--and this was not the time to notice that! Not when you were face to face with walking death!

 

He wasn’t sure if it had heard them. But it had probably smelled them. Shit, shit, shit, this wasn’t good. It was getting closer. Too close. Could he even line up a shot with this rifle at that distance? Way too close, way too close--

 

Its head whipped around again.

 

He saw it snarl.

 

Eyes still fixated on the giant beast, Liam pulled his arm away from MacCready, lined up his rifle…

 

And for the first time since picking up the pipboy, activated VATS.

 

Shot after shot fired at its skull, guided by the pipboy’s targeting system. He was sure they hit true.

 

Except all it seemed to do was piss it off as it finally  _ roared _ in a rage, red eyes definitely spotting them now.

 

It lunged.

 

And chaos was unleashed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY FOR ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER  
>  ~~butnotreally~~


	52. No Witch Way About it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No witches in this museum. Plenty of devils though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This rain crap needs to stop already so the mosquitoes stop exploding. I just had one flying in my face while I was trying to finish this chapter up. Not because it wasn't long enough, but because I hadn't found a good "wrap up" spot.  
> Just...I would like to do things (like sleep) without stressing about bites, thanks.

The next twenty seconds went by in a blur.

 

Mostly because Liam had gotten all but  _ slammed _ into the wall behind him, a bit of rubble coming free around him, and would’ve continued to be slammed into the floor when he’d landed with a  _ thud _ , if not for vaguely realizing that someone was shouting.

 

Followed by gunfire.

 

This felt oddly familiar…

 

But there was no bite of wind or chill of snow on his face.

 

There were, however, shouts of pain interspersing the gunfire now.

 

Liam forced himself to his elbows with a wheeze as he tried to get back the breath that had been knocked out of him, ignoring the blackness licking at his vision--or was that just how dark it was in here? Either way, he squinted past it, focusing on the scuffle in front of him, squinting harder to fight off the blur--

 

His eyes snapped wide.  _ Shit! _

 

MacCready was on the ground, crumpled against the wall, no longer firing, and the  _ hugeass _ deathclaw was raising up one  _ hugeass _ claw again, ready to add more blood onto its  _ hugeass _ claw--

 

_ “Hey!” _

 

Liam almost wondered where that voice had come from...until the ringing in his ears let him know that it had been  _ himself _ calling out to get the beast’s attention.

 

And get its attention it did, giant appendage freezing mid-air as it whipped its head around to stare him right in the eye with its own fiery red gaze.

 

_ Shit-- _

 

It  _ growled _ at the interruption, charging straight for him--

 

_ SHIT! _

 

Liam scrambled for his rifle, not finding it immediately, cursing his luck. Reached for his pack instead, finding the assault rifle, fired--

 

And fired--

 

And fired--

 

He could feel its hot breath closing in, an arm raised up to swing down in a strike that would surely be his end--

 

Its eye blew out in a spray of red just as another  _ bang!  _ sounded out.

 

Liam watched, transfixed, finger still squeezing the trigger from his last shot, as the thing stumbled, stumbled, wavered, wobbled…

 

And fell over in a giant heap, knocking a still-lit lamp askew (luckily not setting the place up in flames), finally lying still as it growled its last breath.

 

He stared.

 

Stared.

 

Didn’t dare to breathe.

 

Stared some more.

 

And finally snapped out of it when he heard a faint groan somewhere in the dark.

 

_ Shit! Mac! _

 

Liam scrambled from his spot, fighting through the rush of dizziness pounding at his head (this was no time to pass out!) to reach the fallen sniper.

 

His rifle hit the ground with a clatter as he reached for his pipboy, flicking on the light, squinting at the sudden spike of pain the sudden brightness sent through his skull--

 

And couldn’t fight the quick intake of breath at the sight before him.

 

_ Shit _ , that was a lot of blood. He blinked,  _ hard _ , chasing away another image from another time that threatened to overlap this one.  _ This wasn’t then, the same thing wasn’t happening now, the same thing wouldn’t happen after. _

 

He went for his pack, seeking stimpaks, other hand already carefully, as gently as possible, pulling ripped clothing aside.

 

_ Shit _ \--that word was popping up a lot. A series of long slashes decorated the sniper’s chest, shining a sickly red, as it rose and fell rapidly (and damn was he relieved to find the guy still breathing). It was hard to tell how deep they went, but that needed to be dealt with. He wasn’t sure if anything was broken, but at least nothing but blood was in the wounds as far as he could tell. Should be safe to stim them.

 

MacCready groaned as the first stimpak went to work, slowly knitting ragged skin back together before Liam’s eyes. “Hey, careful,” he said softly, setting a hand on the sniper’s shoulder when he shifted a bit in discomfort, a frown screwing up his brow as he slowly blinked up at the ceiling. “Try not to move yet.” And damn, was that his voice? He hardly recognized the quivering wreck it had become.

 

He debated on using another stimpak as the sniper’s eyes drifted towards him, still not quite focused but looking less pinched with pain with every second that passed. The guy’s sleeve looked a bit ragged and red, too, and those gashes in his chest had been pretty deep despite looking a lot better now.

 

Another stimpak was applied before he thought too much about it. Hell, he’d get another ready if needed, but for now…

 

Liam sat back against an intact section of wall with a sigh, glad it didn’t seem like it would give out behind him any time soon. He was tired suddenly, hands trembling a bit as he removed his gas mask to run his fingers through his hair. Probably the adrenaline wearing off...and hell if his head didn’t ache.

 

He squeezed his eyes shut as the after effects of the near-death fight washed over him, trying not to think about just  _ how  _ close to death they’d gotten. That  _ MacCready _ had gotten.

 

\---

 

_ Am I going to die here? _

 

MacCready had thought those words, a sense of weary detachment coming over him as he watched the deathclaw raise its claw up again, getting ready to bring it down in its final blow.

 

He’d watched with horror as it had  _ slammed _ Liam practically through that wall, a bit of it even crumbling down on him. He was afraid the wall might even come down and bury him before the claw could finish the job. And it had looked ready to do just that, too. So he’d acted without thinking, grabbing its attention. As if he could do something.

 

And it had taken the bait.

 

Switched its attention to him.

 

And of course kicked his as--uh,  _ butt _ in the process, because  _ of course _ it would; it was a freaking  _ massive deathclaw _ . And now he was going to pay the price for it, and they were both going to die here anyway, and maybe he should’ve listened to Liam’s urging to not keep following him in, except that would’ve meant Liam would die in here, alone, and now they were both going to die anyway so what did it matter; at least Duncan was safe, but there was still Liam’s son; who would save him now--

 

_ “Hey!” _

 

_ \--wha…? _

 

Suddenly the beast was off of him, leaving him to stare blankly at the ceiling as his screaming chest attempted to draw in breath that just made it scream at him even more.

 

What was going…?

 

There were growls and gunshots and a couple of shouts, and then...suddenly nothing.

 

What had happened?

 

MacCready attempted to turn his head, unable to help the groan leaving his lips.

 

Then suddenly Liam was there. Or he was vaguely sure it was Liam at least. It was still dark as hell in here, and he was having trouble seeing well as it was.

  
He squinted when it got bright suddenly. Heard the intake of breath above him. Tried not to groan or wince as his wounds were prodded at very gently--though it was still painful--or when a stimpak pricked his skin.

 

He thought he could feel a hand on his shoulder as he was told he shouldn’t move yet; let the stimpak do its thing. Was that Liam’s voice…? He tried to do as he was told, breathing carefully and soon much more easily as the healing medicine kicked in more, knitting what must have been a few broken ribs back together. Another small sting pricked his neck, the added relief of what must’ve been a second stimpak taking over the work of the first as the odd sensation of cuts closing and his head clearing continued.

 

Feeling less likely to pass out if he moved now, MacCready turned his head to look at the form beside him that had moved away.

 

Liam was sat against the wall, practically curled in on himself as his fingers clutched at his hair, his own eyes squeezed shut. He frowned, the image of the blonde slamming into the wall still fresh in his mind. But that was when he noticed...

 

“...it got you too.” He hadn’t realized he’d spoken at first, the words produced almost of their own accord.

 

But the deathclaw had definitely left its mark. Angry red gashes, still weeping more red, lined Liam’s arm, a few deep scratches marring the shoulder piece above them.

 

Liam started at the words, turning to look at MacCready with widened eyes as if he’d forgotten the sniper was there...before turning said eyes down towards the aforementioned slashes on his arm. “...oh. Yea.” Then he winced.

 

“...you should...probably take care of that.” It was becoming easier to talk now, his ribs no longer protesting his breathing. He took a deeper breath to test it...and found them only somewhat sore, the stimpaks having done their job. Wouldn’t take care of any blood loss, though, so he definitely wouldn’t be doing anything strenuous for awhile. Not without at least a night of rest. Which…

 

He craned his neck, looking around at what he could see past the broken walls. The crumbled decor, tossed and broken furniture...the creepy mannequins.

 

...they were definitely not staying here.

 

Hell, it wasn’t even clear if the place was cleared yet.

 

Focusing his attention back on Liam, he noticed the blonde hadn’t really done anything yet. Hadn’t attempted to deal with the gashes on his arm. Instead, he was sort of staring at them in a spacey way, idly touching the back of his head.

 

A strong sense of deja vu washed over him.

 

MacCready frowned, finally deciding he should try sitting up now. Especially if Liam was just going to sit there like that. He did so carefully, wincing a little, but finally managed to pull himself fully upright. Even getting a better look at the state of his wounds and clothing. His shirt was going to require some major patchwork--a task he wasn’t unfamiliar with and one of the reasons he carried a few spares--but he’d worry about that later. At least there were only trace marks left on his chest. Those should fade with time. For now, he focused his attention on Liam.

 

The blonde blinked, finally noticing what he was doing. “What’re you…?”

 

“Look at me for a second, would you?”

 

Liam blinked again. But turned his head towards him the rest of the way, the corners of his eyes crinkling a bit in a suppressed wince.

 

His pupils were a little bigger than they should be with the pipboy’s light on like it was. And--he gently took hold of Liam’s wrist, earning another blink, as he carefully moved it closer to the blonde’s face, mindful of the angry marks he had on that arm. Though Liam winced a bit again, his pupils barely contracted at the added brightness.

 

Yep. Definitely concussed.

 

He almost asked if the blonde had more stimpaks on him...but then decided,  _ the hell with it _ , and took out one of his own, sticking it into the same arm he held onto before Liam could question.

 

It was still freaky how quickly wounds closed up from stimpaks; even creepier to see it directly. He didn’t think he’d ever get used to it. But soon enough, the angry red marks on Liam’s arm faded to superficial lines that shouldn’t leave permanent scars. Hell, the mark from when that assaultron had melted his shoulder piece--and the skin beneath it--was practically gone already.

 

Liam blinked at him again, eyes already looking less pinched. “Um. Thanks.”

 

“Yea, well…” MacCready began, fighting back embarrassment when he realized he was still holding onto Liam’s wrist, which he quickly dropped (probably a little quicker than he intended to). “You weren’t dealing with it, so I figured I should take matters into my own hands.” He really hoped he wasn’t blushing, finding he was unable to meet the blonde’s gaze. “You should probably take it easy though. That thing hit you pretty hard.”

 

He could feel Liam’s eyes rake over him, making it difficult not to squirm. “I could say the same of you.” The blonde released a sigh, finally looking away again. “The hell was a deathclaw doing in here anyway? That thing’s fucking huge.”

 

MacCready took a glance at it himself.

 

No kidding. “Huge” was an understatement. Just its claws alone had to be bigger than his arms--not that that was a difficult feat; he’d always been a skinny guy--thicker than Liam’s arms maybe. Not that Liam wasn’t skinny, too. But he was definitely more fit than the sniper was. Not that he was...looking that closely.

 

…

 

He was just going to stop looking now.

 

_ We nearly died and I’m still recovering.  _ That had to be it. He wasn’t...checking Liam out or anything.

 

And stopping that line of thought now. Especially after spying the gold glint off Liam’s hand again.

 

“Right…” MacCready nearly jumped when the blonde spoke suddenly, looking at their surroundings. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on staying in this building. We’ll find somewhere else to camp out and rest.” he trailed off as he climbed to his feet with a slight groan, only wavering a little bit before he caught his balance. The sniper didn’t realize he was staring--making sure Liam was ok after sustaining a concussion!--until the blonde turned to look back at him, raising a brow. “You feeling ok there? Or do you need a hand up?”

 

“Uhh…”  _ Intelligent answer there, MacCready. _ He mentally smacked himself, but rather than actually answer, he lurched himself forward, intending to get to his feet.

 

Apparently he was still weaker than he thought. No sooner than he’d started to rise, he was tumbling backwards, back on his as--ah, butt again.

 

...

 

He dared a glance up at Liam, willing away the blush that he just knew was blazing on his cheeks. And just like he thought, there was the browraise again; only this time the brow was raised higher in a dubious expression, as if to say,  _ Are you sure you don’t need help? _

 

MacCready looked down at the floor, unable to meet Liam’s gaze. “...ok, maybe I could use a hand...” he muttered reluctantly.

 

The dubious expression might’ve shifted to something more amused, but the blonde seemed to take pity on him, remaining silent as he held out his hand for the sniper to take.

 

If his face had turned more red from gripping Liam’s hand, Liam also made no comment.

 

\---

 

_ Grognak the Barbarian: What Sorcery is this? _

 

Liam stashed the comic he found carefully into his pack, ignoring the warmth he could still feel in his hand from when MacCready had gripped it with his own calloused palm.

 

(He also wasn’t thinking of how MacCready had definitely blushed more then or how cute it had made him look. Definitely not. Completely inappropriate in a situation that was still potentially dangerous. Besides, he was probably just embarrassed from falling over. No need to bring attention to it. Or even think anything of it.)

 

After they’d collected their gear from where it had scattered in that hectic battle and gotten a closer look at the monster of a deathclaw--seriously, the thing was fucking huge, and one of its equally huge horns was broken; how old was this thing?--they moved onto the next section behind the wall in search of any more loot. And maybe some answers, because why the hell was a deathclaw in this building, and why had it apparently been chewing on people but not eating them?

 

They didn’t bother moving stealthily this time. If anything alive had been left in the building, it would’ve been aware of the two of them ages ago. And it wasn’t like there was anywhere left to hide--

 

That was a dead Gunner.

 

And those were smashed eggs.

 

He blinked down at them, looking over towards the sniper to blink again, getting a few blinks in return.

 

They were on the same page then.

 

Liam looked down at the shell fragments. They seemed to be spilling out of another room ahead, almost like a trail. Frowning curiously, he followed it, hearing the hesitant sound of footsteps fall into line behind him.

 

And found even more smashed eggs, another dead Gunner that was practically quartered, and…

 

A large, fully intact, pristine egg, sitting innocently on the floor, not far from a holotape by the dead Gunner.

 

Liam felt his gut drop.

 

What the hell had they gotten themselves into?


	53. Scrambled Emotions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a helping of poached eggs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of songs are mentioned in here. You can listen to them when they come up if you want, but I essentially picked out a few lines that fit.  
> They weren't really planned either. I really had listened to the radio at that point and these were the songs that came up. ='D And they worked so well.

_ “An entire nest of deathclaw eggs...smashed to bits… _

 

_ “...all except one...” _

 

MacCready stared at the body of the dead Gunner as the holotape continued to play from Liam’s pipboy. A dying man’s words--obviously. And possibly the only explanation for what the hell was going on here.

 

_ “If we’d known...if they’d told us...what was in that case… _

 

_ “I would’ve told those Gunner bosses and that...glorified  _ liquor cabinet _ Wellingham to take their caps and-- _ cough _ \--...and stuff it…” _

 

He frowned at that name. Wellingham… Why did he recognize it?

 

_ “...guess we know why that deathclaw stalked us...all the way from Lynn Woods… _

 

_ “...we took their damn kids! ...maybe if we just...return the egg… _

 

_ “ _ Snrrrrrrrllll--

 

_ “...oh...hey Mama...you looking for this?” _

 

The holotape cut off abruptly.

 

He looked over to Liam as he heard the guy take in a breath. Release it. Look back up at him from where he was kneeling by the Gunner.

 

And the egg.

 

Saw him look down at the egg. Watched as he frowned intently at it, a mixture of emotions and thoughts flitting across his face that the sniper couldn’t quite pinpoint.

 

…

 

_ Wait. _

 

Liam reached for the egg.

 

_ That look... _

 

Picked it up and frowned at it determinedly.

 

_ Oh no… _

 

Glanced at the Gunner, at the wreckage of shell bits and debris that had been the other deathclaw eggs before they’d gotten smashed.

 

_ No. _

 

He seriously couldn’t be thinking of…

 

There was no way MacCready wasn’t going to share his opinion on this. Especially after everything that had just happened here. He was putting his foot down  _ now _ .

 

“No. Oh no. No way are we going to--...”

 

Liam looked up at him, but now there was some...other emotion he couldn’t quite place tinging his features. MacCready marched on regardless, not finished voicing his opinion. He was going to be heard on this, damn it.

 

“Dunwich I can excuse since it had that weird mystical shi-- _ er _ , crap going on. We don’t know what it was actually doing, and it’s gone now. And this place?” He looked around for emphasis. “We had no way of knowing there was a deathclaw in here until it was too late, and by that point it probably would’ve hunted us down if we tried to run and had no choice but to kill it…

 

“But this?” He looked pointedly at the egg. The  _ deathclaw _ egg in Liam’s grasp. “This is where I draw the line. This time we  _ know _ what we’ll be getting into. This time we  _ know _ it’s a deathclaw. And not just a deathclaw; a deathclaw  _ egg _ , and I don’t think its mama is going to be happy to see us. No ‘thank you’s or handfuls of caps to show gratitude… Just…growls and snarls and a heaping of limb-tearing and skull-smashing and--” He waved a hand through the air. “No. Just no. I know I was going to stick with you, but if you’re going there...honestly planning to go to that nest and return that egg...you can leave me out of it.”

 

Silence. Only broken by the sound of his breathing. And Liam just...kept looking at him with that same expression. He wasn’t sure if the guy was even going to say anything back. Hell, he almost jumped when he finally got a response.

 

“That’s why I wasn’t planning to have you come with me.”

 

Just not the response he was expecting.

 

“...what?” Had he heard that right?

 

“This is something I need to do myself.”

 

His jaw moved silently in disbelief for a few seconds before he finally forced out, “So you’re planning to go there  _ alone _ ?”

 

Liam stared back at him silently, corners of his eyes pinching, before he looked away again, down at the egg in his hands. “If I have to, yes.” Before MacCready could say anything further, he continued. “I won’t force anyone to follow me into something like this. I know it’s stupid. Dangerous. But I need to do it.”

 

The sniper stared, slack-jawed. There were so many things he wanted to say to that. So many protests, so many demands, questions, anything to figure out why the hell he would want to do something so stupid! Hell, he almost blurted out,  _ I forbid you to go alone! _ As if he had any authority over Liam. As if he could tell his best friend what to do. He even...wanted to tell him how he felt… How…

 

Except,  _ I think I might be falling for you _ , didn’t seem like the most appropriate thing to bring up at this point. Besides, Liam was already heading for the door, deathclaw egg securely wrapped in some spare cloth and cradled carefully in his arm.

 

He was...actually going to do this then. Go there alone. To a deathclaw. That could potentially rip him to shreds.

 

_ Without MacCready’s help. _

 

All he could do was follow numbly as Liam shoved through the front door of the museum, finding the chains that had blocked their entry and pushing them aside. He half-expected the blonde to turn to him at any moment in farewell as they parted ways…

 

If not for the green that was currently tinting the world, a shock of almost-yellow green shooting a bolt across the sky that made Liam’s pipboy click in response.

 

Radstorm.

 

He heard Liam curse under his breath, unhooking his gas mask from his belt even as he whipped his head around, settling on a direction further into the cluster of buildings nearby. He turned towards the sniper, gesturing with the mask on his face to “come on!” as he took off at a quick jog.

 

Heart jolting for reasons unknown--or reasons he wouldn’t acknowledge--MacCready followed, not wanting to be left behind…

 

...but knowing eventually he would be.

 

\---

 

A convalescent home.

 

Not exactly his first choice of places to bunker down, but it had been the first intact building with an actual roof he had spotted. Plus, it looked secure.

 

The Mr. Handy tending to the front desk, on the other hand, gave him pause. Robots in the wasteland were a fifty-fifty chance when it came to being background noise or threat. If he was being perfectly honest, it tended to lean closer to “threat”.

 

Liam would’ve walked right back out of there, storm or not, if the robot hadn’t already spotted him and MacCready walking in. Hell, it had almost jumped in surprise. Maybe delight?

 

“Oh, hello! Welcome to Sandy Coves Convalescent Home! May I be of service to you?”

 

_ Uhh… _

 

He wasn’t too sure how to answer that. ‘Mind if we squat in here while we wait out the storm?’ didn’t seem particularly smart to ask.

 

Finally he settled for, “No. Thank you. Just passing through and hoping to peruse your lobby for awhile.” That sounded like shit. Even more than it had in his head.

 

But somehow, the robot bought it. “Oh, of course! Feel free to browse! Oh, but please do not disturbs our residents. They need their rest. Have a nice day!”

 

And with that, it went back to looking down at the terminal sitting on the counter in front of it, occasionally shuffling through some papers off to the side. Content to completely ignore the two of them.

 

Kind of freaky really, but fine by Liam. He had no intention of “bothering” any “guests”, whoever they may be, anyway. For now, the mostly intact couches he spotted nearby were calling to him. Sparing a quick glance towards MacCready--and trying to ignore the tension that had developed between them--he headed for one of the couches and sank into it with a sigh. MacCready, on the other hand...chose to drift towards the other side of the room and poke at the book return terminal stationed there. Completely ignoring Liam.

 

He felt an odd sense of hurt at that.

 

Sure, he had told the sniper he needed to handle this trip alone, but that didn’t mean he didn’t  _ want _ him to travel with him. He just...didn’t want him to get hurt again. Seeing him there in the museum like that, the deathclaw looming over, blood glisterning on its claws, even more blood pooling from MacCready’s chest as he lay there barely moving…

 

Liam stifled a sharp intake of breath (MacCready might’ve glanced over his shoulder at that, or it might’ve been his imagination).

 

No way in hell did he want that to happen again. The sniper could’ve died in there. His  _ friend _ could have died in there. Hell, they’d  _ both  _ nearly died. MacCready still had his son to worry about--cured or not--friends back where he had come from, family in general (a wife as well maybe?)...

 

Technically, Liam had no family. Not right now anyway.

 

Yes, his son was in the Institute after being kidnapped by that augmented mercenary of theirs, and had been there for about ten years. But from what he had seen, Shaun had been treated well. In Kellogg’s memories, he’d appeared healthy, looked after; at least content if not happy. Whether Liam got him out of their clutches or not, he was surviving. Not in as immediate of danger as MacCready’s son had been in. So...in some ways, he didn’t have as much to lose taking on this fool’s errand as the sniper did.

 

…

 

Or maybe he was just trying to convince himself of something he didn’t realize yet. Who knew.

 

And don’t get him wrong. He was still going to (figuratively) kick open the Institute’s doors and demand where his son was. That was damn certain.

 

_ I need to know. I need to try. _

 

...

 

This silence was starting to get maddening. The only things in here were the creaks of the old building as it settled and shifted a bit in the storm, the shifting and clanking of the Mr. Handy at the front desk, MacCready pacing about (and still ignoring him), and the occasional  _ boom _ of the storm itself as stained windows lit up yellow-green.

 

Liam stared down at his pack, the wrapped egg just visible as it peaked from the top of it.

 

He flipped on the radio, still staring down at it.

 

Sighing, he settled back into the cushions, removing his mask to run his fingers through his hair.

 

What the hell was he doing?

 

_ “Worry, worry, worry, love is passing me by~” _

 

He stared up at the ceiling, watching the ceiling fan up there lazily spin as the introduction of the current song played and continued. Eventually, his eyes drifted towards the wrapped egg again. He found himself lifting it from its confines and setting it in his lap. He stared down at the nearly pristine shell, only the faintest scratches visible on its surface. Quite the survivor over its siblings, and it wasn’t even grown yet. Because that was the thing.

 

It was a baby.

 

A baby deathclaw...but a baby nonetheless.

 

A baby...that had been taken from its mother.

 

And the other parent (or had that been the mother back in the museum?) had gone in pursuit of its kidnappers, trying to get it back.

 

Or it seemed that way anyway. Also explained why it had torn those Gunners to shreds. Despite the fact they were Gunners, he felt almost bad for them…

 

But...not in the same way as he felt for the deathclaw. Which was nuts. Because, again,  _ deathclaw _ . MacCready wasn’t kidding that it might not be grateful, and he knew this. Knew how pissed off a deathclaw got when it spotted someone. Was disturbed from its peace. That disturbing of the peace was what had drawn out the deathclaw at Concord after all.

 

But this was different.

 

It was a parent whose child had been taken.

 

A baby kidnapped from its mother.

 

And he couldn’t leave that alone.

 

_ “When it comes to getting chummy, I’ll admit I’m quite a dummy~” _

 

He almost snorted. Yea, he was a dummy alright. He was pushing his best friend away because he was afraid of the guy getting hurt. But this was the wasteland. “Danger” and “hurt” were practically an everyday occurrence. (Which the Minutemen were trying to minimize, but even so.)

 

Except this danger was because he couldn’t just leave this alone. And...he really needed to explain that. He didn’t like this odd tension going on between himself and MacCready.

 

He steeled himself as “Worry Worry Worry” ended and the opening melody of “Living for You” took its place.

 

“Hey, Mac…” The words left his lips before he could lose the nerve. “We need to talk.”

 

\---

 

He fiddled with the terminal, flipping through screens, paced back and forth across half the room (but not  _ that _ half), stared out the window at the tinge of green he could see through dirty glass, poked at an oddly green houseplant sitting in the corner.

 

Noted when the music started playing from a pipboy radio.

 

He wasn’t... _ avoiding _ Liam. Just giving the guy space. They were going to be parting ways soon; might as well get used to it now so it’d be easier once they hit the road and he went off to do his crazy “mission” or whatever and MacCready went off to...he wasn’t sure what yet, but he’d figure something out. As long as it was away from crazed deathclaws and foolish blondes who gave too much of a damn about everyone but themselves to the point of needlessly putting themselves in danger instead of leaving well enough alone, and…

 

...and knowing how dangerous it was going to be to the point of pushing away his only help just so no one else got hurt, and  _ damn it Liam, why the hell do you want to go there alone? Why aren’t you bringing help? _

 

_ Why aren’t you bringing m-- _

 

“Hey, Mac…”

 

MacCready tensed, nearly jumping out of his skin and almost breaking a leaf off the plant he was poking at.

 

“We need to talk.”

 

_ Shi--I mean. Fuc--uh, crap. _

 

Swallowing down his sudden nerves, the sniper slowly turned towards the blonde sitting on the couch, just managing to keep a cool tone of voice as he asked, “What about?” Was this the point where they parted ways? Was Liam going to tell him not to follow when the storm passed? Or, hell, demand he stay here while he slipped out into the still-raging radstorm? It was getting harder to keep his cool as these thoughts picked up.

 

Of course, he couldn’t keep his cool at all when he spotted the look on Liam’s face as he stared down at the egg in his lap. Somewhere between determined and a sort of...somberness? Resignation maybe? He hoped he was wrong, because that could only mean he was right and that they really would be parting ways now.

 

This should not be bothering him so much, feelings or not. Besides, the guy was likely off-limits. Who knew if he even swung that way.

 

Finally, Liam’s eyes flicked over, flicking away again when they saw he had the sniper’s attention. He opened his mouth to speak, hesitating a moment. Reluctant to tell MacCready to hit the road maybe?

 

“...how many children have been kidnapped in the Commonwealth, do you think?”

 

…

 

Ok...those were not the words he had been expecting.

 

MacCready blinked, completely dumbfounded. “Uhh…” He stopped, frowning as he really thought about it, but also wondering where this had come from. “I don’t know. Kidnappings happen all the time I guess. Not all of them are reported, though. Mostly ‘cause no one has the time or resources to handle it. Except maybe Valentine, but he’s only one guy, er, synth.” Where was Liam going with this…?

 

“It’s wrong that it happens, though, isn’t it?” Liam still wasn’t looking at him, gaze focused on the egg his palm rested on.

 

The sniper narrowed an eye speculatively. “Of course it is. It’s fuc-- _ agh _ ...screwed up that it happens. Especially to kids.”

 

To that, Liam just nodded. “Yea. It is, isn’t it.”

 

...ok this was getting weird now. Why were they discussing a sad everyday occurrence? It was something that happened, yes, but it wasn’t like there was anything that could be done about it. Not in most cases anyway. And then...you had the almost impossible cases like Liam’s. Where his son had been taken by the Institute. And that right there should’ve been the end of it. Because the Institute. No one could fight back against them. No one could rescue anyone kidnapped from them. No one could even  _ try _ to.

 

No one but Liam.

 

Because Liam was trying to.

 

And...the realization hit MacCready like a brick.

 

The blonde was still staring down at that egg.

 

That egg...was a baby deathclaw.

 

That egg had been stolen from another deathclaw.

 

That egg was a kidnapped child.

 

And,  _ MacCready, you are an ass. _

 

And he was not going to apologize for that swear.

 

Of  _ course _ Liam wanted to return that egg! He saw it as a kidnapped kid!

 

How could he not, when he’d gone through the same thing? Was  _ still _ going through the same thing.

 

And there was no convincing him to leave matters alone.

 

_ Damn it. _

 

MacCready sighed. “That pipboy tell you where Lynn Woods is?”

 

Liam blinked a few times, looking perplexed as he glanced over to the sniper. “It...does, yea.” His brow furrowed. “Why?” A pause. Realization came over his face. “Wait. You’re not--”

 

“I’m not letting you go there alone. Like it or not, you’re stuck with me.” If the blonde was going there anyway, to face a deathclaw that might get pissed off at the sight of him, egg or not--hell, maybe  _ because _ of the egg--then having someone else around to fight it would increase his chances. Duncan was already saved. Liam needed to stay alive so he could save his own son.

 

Liam was still looking at him oddly. “But you said…”

 

Yea, he had said. “I know. But I can’t let you face an angry deathclaw alone. What kind of friend would that make me?”

 

Liam just kept staring silently. Until the corner of his mouth slowly lifted in a smile as he shook his head in wonder. “You’re a weird guy, Mac. Have I told you that?”

 

MacCready snorted, ignoring the way his heart stuttered at that smile. Crap, he had it bad. “Yea, yea… Let’s just get this crazy over with.”

 

_ “And I’m so in love~ _

_ “There’s nothing in life but you~” _


	54. All Your Eggs in One Basket

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Devil's Due

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost forgot.  
> Happy one year to this fic!! 8D!!
> 
> (holy crap)

He had never explained why he wanted to handle this task alone.

 

The realization hit Liam several hours later, when they were tromping across the rocky landscape to the west of Lynn Woods. He had chosen this direction, going in a sort of roundabout way and avoiding most of the area, since he’d never actually been to the region around Lynn Woods post-war.

 

He had wanted to go _pre_ -war, of course, as it was an interesting historical park from what he’d heard, but had never gotten the chance. Another one of those regrets he could do nothing about.

 

Glancing down at his pipboy, Liam noted the distance until they hit the estimated area the nest should be in. Not too far now. He also noted the reason he was familiar with this area, flicking his gaze to the side where he knew a certain bunker would be that possibly still housed a former Brotherhood Paladin. Still a shame he hadn’t convinced Brandis that their mission failure wasn’t his fault. It was just a series of bad luck, and his experience with the Brotherhood would’ve been useful to younger recruits.

 

His charm hadn’t been with him then, still needing to thaw out a bit.

 

But considering Liam didn’t have a true opinion of the Brotherhood yet, and had even heard some...less than flattering things about them from a source (his eyes shifted behind him to where he could hear the crunch of gravel from a following sniper), he wasn’t sure if sending Brandis back to the group would’ve been good or bad.

 

Oh well.

 

He turned his head forward again.

 

Not something to worry about now.

 

They had a more pressing mission to currently deal with.

 

That hopefully wouldn’t end up with either of them killed…

 

Liam ignored the images that came to mind, one sitting more clearly in the forefront than the rest--of giant claws still dripping crimson as that same crimson gathered on unmoving green fabric and worn leather.

 

...and ignored the pained spike that sent to his heart.

 

\---

 

It had been a quiet trip so far.

 

Which...made sense. Small talk seemed a little off-putting when you were going to face a deathclaw.

 

Or hopefully _not_ face a deathclaw, since Liam was intent on returning its stolen egg--saving a kidnapped baby. MacCready just wasn’t too sure it would get the sentiment. Especially after seeing the state of those Gunners back at the Museum…

 

He shuddered.

 

But he had chosen to come along, and damn straight he was going to keep to his promise. Even if Liam had been against his coming along to begin with. Or more like agreeing with his argument on some level.

 

They’d cleared the air during their rest at the convalescent home, but some things were still left unsaid. He could feel it in his gut; Liam had wanted to say more, but held something back. Possibly too overwhelmed by his volunteering to come along and watch the guy’s back? Who knew. He doubted he would find out either, as they waded across a shallow stream and started to trek their way up a gravelly hill. It was slow going, but eventually they made their way to the top, stopping to catch their breaths in a stand of trees.

 

“Huh.” MacCready almost jumped when Liam spoke, head snapping to look at him. “You can see the old fire tower from here…”

 

Blinking, the sniper followed his gaze, seeing the plain shape of a tower going straight up further to the east.

 

Liam turned towards him. “We’re in the right area then.” He lowered his voice, tone more serious. “The nest should be nearby. Be on guard. I still don’t know how this thing is going to react, and…” he trailed off, hesitating. Looked away for a second. Looked back. “Just be careful. I’d hate if something happened to you.” And were his ears turning red?

 

Before the sniper could fully process that, Liam was turning away again, heading further past the trees. All he could do was blink...and start moving again, lest he get left behind anyway.

 

\---

 

Liam stared into the dry riverbed.

 

Below, in the dust and dirt, he could just barely make out a mound of mud and bits of rotted vegetable matter. It would remind him of a crocodile’s nest...

 

...if not for the bones he could see poking out from it.

 

_That’s no crocodile nest._

 

_No shit, sherlock._

 

He shook away his thoughts, glad for his mask so his mental beration wouldn’t be obvious. But...he still had to go down there. This had to be the nest in question. It was the right area after all. And if it wasn’t, then…

 

The blonde side-eyed the sniper crouched next to him on the rocky ridge they’d stopped on above the nest site.

 

It was highly tempting to tell MacCready to wait up here. They didn’t _both_ need to go down there after all. He’d already done as he’d said and accompanied Liam here; technically, his task was done. But would he be able to convince the sniper of that?

 

Somehow, he wasn’t sure. Stubborn seemed to be a trait they had in common…

 

And damn if that loyalty of his didn’t warm Liam’s heart.

 

But…

 

“Maybe it’d be better if you stay back.” The words left his mouth before he could fully process them.

 

And immediately, MacCready tensed up beside him. Though was that a hint of relief in his eyes? It was only there for a split second, quickly squashed away, but Liam had seen it. And he didn’t blame the guy for it. “What?” Still sounded offended though. “Are you kidding me?”

 

Before he could go off on a tangent of some kind, Liam cut him off, going for a different route than _I want you to stay safe. It’ll kill me if you get hurt again_ . “You _are_ a sniper, right?” That did the trick, MacCready’s mouth snapping shut with a frown, brow furrowing (cutely) in confusion. But that showed he had his attention, so the blonde continued. “Wouldn’t it be smarter for you have a higher vantage point? And I don’t know…” He surveyed the scene again, making sure to keep his voice lowered, just in case. “...but this seems like a pretty good spot for a sniper’s nest. Anything comes charging into that little valley, it’d be easy for you to take a shot at it. Much more effective for you to watch my back since sniper rifles work better at long range.” _Laying it on a bit thick there, aren’t you, Liam._

 

His brain could shut up. Besides, he already knew that.

 

It seemed to get MacCready thinking, though. He could see the resolve beginning to crack behind those blue eyes as he considered the logic of the suggestion. Now for one more twig to add to the stack and make it topple...

 

“Besides, I might be able to sneak in and put the egg back without it noticing.”

 

Oh yea, he was definitely thinking about it now. Not to insult the sniper, but they both knew Liam could move like a shadow when he wanted to while MacCready...couldn’t. He had gotten better at it; that was obvious. But he was no expert in the art of stealth.

 

Finally, his partner sighed. “Fine…” he bit out through gritted teeth. “I’ll stay back.”

 

‘That doesn’t mean I have to like it’ was clearly written across his face. But at least he had agreed. That made Liam feel better.

 

He nodded, turning to face the ridge ahead of him. “Alright. Guess it’s time I head down there now. Get this over with.” He turned back to the sniper. “Wish me luck.”

 

\---

 

MacCready watched with bated breath as Liam carefully approached the nest after finding a good way down the hill.

 

This had to be the stupidest thing either of them had done in their travels together. And that was compared to facing Winlocke and Barnes back at Mass Pike and nearly having Liam’s arm melted off by a crazy assaultron! Or nearly taking a nuke to the face, not once, but more times than MacCready could count from multiple sources; at least one of which was also Gunners, but mostly from super mutants.

 

No. This was charging--or maybe not “charging” since Liam was definitely sneaking in slowly and carefully (And how the hell did he manage to keep crouching like that? Did his legs not get sore?)--straight into the open maw of an enraged deathclaw--figuratively--and hoping like hell it didn’t decide you’d done wrong or looked like a tasty snack.

 

MacCready stayed hunkered in the shadows, using the cover of some scraggly bushes to remain unseen.

 

He had said he’d stay back, sure. And he was.

 

But he hadn’t said he’d stay up on the hill.

 

Probably equally stupid to what Liam was doing, and definitely bordering as suicidal.

 

But if that thing appeared, he wanted a clear shot of its eyes. It might not take it down, but it would certainly make it harder to find the two of them. And worst-case scenario…

 

...he could always draw its attention off of Liam…

 

Because Liam needed to live.

 

He just...needed to.

 

General of the Minutemen, giving a damn about others wherever he went, making the Commonwealth a better place one step at a time but definitely doing so enough to garner attention for it (both good and bad)...

 

And he needed to rescue his son.

 

No one could do that but him.

 

And...MacCready believed he could do it.

 

It was crazy really. The guy had to infiltrate the Institute, after all...but somehow, he just felt like Liam was capable. He would do it. He would get in, he would find his son, and he would kick the ass-- _agh_ , butts of those jerks who had kidnapped his kid to begin with.

 

Maybe even take them down, but that was reaching, even for this mental tangent.

 

_“Grahhh!”_

 

...and he should really be paying better attention as he snapped his gaze forward, barely noting how close Liam had gotten to the nest…

 

...and the giant, snarling, horned lizard suddenly looming over him.

 

MacCready put his rifle’s scope to his eye.

 

\---

 

He kept his breath even and slow, matching the speed with which he moved as he kept low to the ground.

 

Liam had been on quite a few infiltration missions, but none of them felt as intense as this moment now.

 

Returning an egg to a deathclaw. What was he thinking?

 

...that it was a kidnapped baby, yes. But...still...was he out of his mind??

 

He could worry about questioning his own sanity later, though. The nest was in sight. He was so close he could almost touch it. Just a bit further, place the egg, and then he could get the fuck out of--

 

_“Grahhh!”_

 

He froze.

 

Heart hammering in his throat, Liam looked up…

 

...in time to see a deathclaw sliding down from the cliff in front of him, a cloud of dust obscuring it from his sight before it burst forth in a lunge, claws held wide as it stared him down.

 

He stared.

 

It stared.

 

Both waiting for what the other would do first. Neither daring to twitch.

 

He saw its beady orange eyes move over him suspiciously--and dare he say cautiously?--narrowing on the shape cradled carefully in his arm a second later. Its lip lifted in a snarl. If he didn’t know any better, he would say it was unsure. Questioning even.

 

_Now or never I guess._

 

Holding his breath, Liam took a step forward.

 

Its eyes narrowed further as it crouched down.

 

He paused again.

 

Flicked his eyes to the egg (cradled in his arm like the baby it was). Flicked his eyes back up.

 

Pitching his voice low, Liam summoned up his most calming voice, as if speaking to a scared animal ready to bite. Which...was pretty accurate right now. “It’s alright. I’m not here for trouble. I’m just here to...fix a wrong.” He huffed softly, muttering his next words to himself, “I’m not sure you can even understand what I’m saying…” Raising his voice again to direct at the ‘claw, he spoke again. “I have your egg.” Slowly, he unwound the cloth protecting its cargo, revealing the pristine shell, still as undamaged as he’d found it. Immediately, its eyes went to it, transfixed. If he didn’t know any better, he’d say it had drawn in a sharp breath.

 

But maybe that was just him projecting…

 

“It was the only one I could find. Sadly, the others were…” he trailed off. Shaking away the unfinished statement, he continued. “I’m here to return this to you, if you’ll let me.” With that, he took another step.

 

It tensed, but didn’t move.

 

Another step.

 

It stared.

 

Another.

 

And another.

 

Until he was close enough to feel its hot breath as it stared down at him, in front of the nest.

 

He met its eye through the gas mask, seeing himself reflected back in those golden-orange eyes. It kept watching him. Waiting. Unsure.

 

_Here goes nothing…_

 

Taking a calming breath, he took the final step.

 

“I’m sorry for what happened. I don’t expect forgiveness for what was done, but please...have this back.”

 

With that, he slowly placed the egg upon the bed of piled plantlife, dirt, and bones.

 

That was when the deathclaw finally moved.


	55. Pillar

Liam blinked at the dirt clinging to his gas mask. And hair. And...a bit of everywhere actually; the deathclaw had gotten a bit “enthusiastic” about covering up the egg.

 

Which was all that had happened. He still couldn’t believe that.

 

But there it was. Standing in front of him, gazing down at the now-filled nest almost fondly. Only giving him the occasional curious glance, with eyes that seemed a little widened if he didn’t know any better. Like it was amazed. Grateful.

 

...and he should probably take that as his cue to leave before the spell was broken.

 

Nodding once--“Glad I could return that to you. I’ll be going now. You take care.”--he took a few steps to back away, but his foot bumped something. Daring a quick glance down, he caught sight of a strange gauntlet sitting in the dirt.

 

Were those...claws?

 

Frowning, he stooped to claim it--after sending a cautious look back to the deathclaw and finding it was still just watching him curiously and making no move to lunge--picking it up.

 

It was definitely some kind of gauntlet with claws. They seemed to be deathclaw claws in fact. Odd…

 

And the ‘claw still wasn’t reacting negatively towards him. That was also unnerving.

 

Blinking, he thought, _Oh hell, why not…_ and held up the gauntlet he found. “Is it...alright if I take this?” He wasn’t sure if the deathclaw her(?)self had found it, or if she’d even understand, but it felt right to ask since it was part of _her_ nest site.

 

It just tilted its head at him, flicking a tongue the slightest bit out of its mouth. But then it just snorted softly, shaking its head a bit, and went back to looking at him curiously.

 

Should he take that as a yes?

 

Not wanting to make any sudden or odd moves, he hooked the gauntlet to his belt, intending to give it a better look later, and resumed his backing away slowly. It continued to watch him quietly, standing vigil over its nest, which he sincerely hoped would not be disturbed again. Hell, he wasn’t even sure that egg would hatch...but it had a much better chance returned to its mother than it would have given to whoever had been expecting it. (Vaguely, he wondered who “Wellingham” was.)

 

Liam was so focused on keeping his eyes on the deathclaw that was still in sight, only occasionally glancing at the ground to make sure he wouldn’t trip, that he wasn’t immediately aware of what was behind him.

 

Until he bumped right into one skinny sniper.

 

\---

 

Holy crap.

 

He’d actually managed to pull it off.

 

MacCready stared forward, lowering his rifle to the ground as Liam backed away from the horned beast. He’d nearly fired, too, afraid it had been about to lunge and do exactly as they’d both feared.

 

But no. It had merely thrown dirt onto its nest (showering Liam was bits of it in the process), covering up the egg so it was no longer in view. Then it had just quietly watched as the blonde backed away--and paused briefly to grab something; he wondered at that--but otherwise doing nothing to stop him.

 

MacCready was so thrown off by the whole thing he didn’t realize Liam was about to back into him until he actually did. They both jumped at that, the blonde spinning around to stare at him he assumed.

 

“Um…” Liam was the first to break the silence. “So, yea…”

 

An awkward start to a conversation. The sniper’s continuation was just as eloquent. “...that’s it then?”

 

“Huh?” He got the sense Liam blinked at that. “Oh. Yea.” He turned his head to look over his shoulder to look at the deathclaw still standing vigil at its nest. Watching them. “That’s it,” he said softly as he turned back towards MacCready. “Safe, back where it belongs…” There was an underlying wistfulness to those words.

 

Again, MacCready thought of the real reason Liam had been so adamant about returning the egg. How he related to the deathclaw.

 

How he needed to rescue his son from his kidnappers.

 

...how he had already saved MacCready’s own son. Something the sniper still needed to pay him back for, even if the blonde insisted it wasn’t necessary.

 

His hand found the wooden figure hiding securely in his front pocket. Somehow, it hadn’t gotten destroyed back at the museum. Or any other time before that. It was a little chipped from time and travel, but otherwise, still as good as the day he’d received it.

 

And...maybe he did have the perfect way to thank Liam for all he’d done. To show his gratitude, and that he’d always have the blonde’s back.

 

...to tell him how he felt…

 

Knowing he might chicken out if he thought about it too much, MacCready (figuratively) charged forward before he lost his nerve.

 

\---

 

MacCready was staring at him.

 

It was...getting a bit unnerving. Almost felt like the guy could see right through the gas mask on his face. (He’d already proven he could read some of Liam’s expressions through it from other tells, so…)

 

Clearing his throat awkwardly--and feeling a bit of warmth rush to his ears (the tell he had no control over)--he threw a glance over his shoulder, seeing the deathclaw still watching the two of them curiously. He wasn’t sure how long she was going to stay there like that or tolerate their presence, so he didn’t wish to push their luck any longer.

 

“Maybe we should get out of h--”

 

His words were cut off as he turned back to see a hand in front of his face. _Uh?_ He blinked, nearly going cross eyed as he focused on MacCready’s fist. Wait. No. Not his fist. He was holding something out towards Liam. A...figure of some sort.

 

A toy soldier?

 

Tilting his head at the odd gesture, Liam frowned, glancing between the hand and the sniper it belonged to as he waited for some sort of explanation.

 

He didn’t have to wait long, his silence likely speaking volumes of his confusion.

 

And was MacCready’s face turning red?

 

“I’ve told you you’re one of the weirdest people I’ve met, right? Giving a damn about everyone you come across? And here you are again, going out of your way to help a _deathclaw_ of all things. When you’ve already done so much.” His voice lowered a bit. “Even helping me...

 

“I’ve been trying to think of a way to properly thank you for all you’ve done, and...well... _here_.” MacCready thrust the little figure more forward in emphasis. “I want you to have this. It might not seem like much, but...it’s something that means a lot to me. A whole lot. So just...take it, alright?”

 

Liam blinked again, feeling like he was missing something here. Or should be reading some bigger meaning in those words. But he could tell MacCready was starting to get nervous by his silence, so he finally reached to take the offered reward, seeing relief pass over the sniper’s eyes as he grasped it.

 

He held it up, studying the details closer. It...kind of resembled MacCready, actually. The hair color was the same, it had green clothing, and even held a small sniper rifle “at attention”. He found himself smiling at it, the smile probably coloring his words a bit as he looked back to the sniper. “Did you...make this yourself?” As he asked, he felt like he already knew the answer was no, but had to ask it anyway.

 

So he wasn’t surprised at the flat tone and browraise that received. “Do I look like the artistic type to you?” It was hard not to snort at that. As it was, he kind of smirked, which he was sure was obvious since MacCready had said his ears raised when he smiled. But the mirth-filled expression slipped away as the sniper’s own face took on a more drawn look, like he was holding something in. “My wife Lucy made this for me not long after we met.”

 

_Oh._ So he _was_ married. Liam was sure MacCready had to have family back home besides Duncan, so that made sense. ...but why did he suddenly feel like he’d been kicked in the gut? He tried to ignore it and pay attention as MacCready continued to speak.

 

“I...didn’t want her to know I was just some hired killer...so I came up with this story that I was a soldier.” He sounded so regretful, Liam was finding it hard not to pull him into a hug. But that would be weird. “I was afraid I’d lose her if she knew the truth.”

 

Frowning sadly, Liam asked, “Did she ever find out?”

 

Now the pained expression was more obvious, and it was even harder not to rush forward and offer some comfort. “No. It doesn’t matter anyway. She...she died a few years back.” Liam felt the air rush out of him. “We stopped for the night in an old Metro station on our way home. It...seemed safe enough. We’d used it a few times before with no problems. But…” He took a breath to steady himself, only succeeding partway. “Something must have shifted somewhere down in the tunnels. Next thing we knew...the ferals were on her…” His words were getting shakier as he spoke. “I didn’t even have a chance to fire off a shot... It was too late. It was all I could do to just grab Duncan and run…” Were his eyes getting shiny? “Damn it… I almost wish...we hadn’t made it out of there… That we’d just...died there with her...” He ducked his head as his shoulders began to shake.

 

Liam frowned at that, feeling the need to jump in before the sniper beat himself up too much. “ _Hey._ ” That got a teary-eyed expression turned his way, but at least he had MacCready’s attention. “Come on; don’t say that. You may have lost your wife, but you saved your son. That means something.” ...was he just telling MacCready this? Or himself?

 

While he wasn’t sure if the words had gotten through, the sniper sniffed, trying to pull himself together. “Maybe… I don’t know anymore.

 

“ _Damn…_ ” he sighed out, “I miss Lucy. Whenever things got bad, she was always a shoulder for me to lean on. My reason to keep going.”

 

_Boy do I know what that’s like…_ Liam thought, not wanting to interrupt.

 

“When she died...I thought that feeling was gone forever.

 

“But then this weird guy showed up.” His voice perked up a bit. “Walks right into the back room of the Third Rail, gas mask covering his face, and hires me just to tag along with him. Gives too much of a damn about everyone but himself despite having the world’s problems on his back. Even helps me out with my problems while lending me a shoulder to lean on...like Lucy did...and never asking for anything in return…” MacCready’s eyes settled on the wooden soldier in the blonde’s grasp. “I just...want you to know how much your friendship means to me.” And raised back up to his face again, as if seeking out his eyes hidden beneath the gas mask.

 

Liam stared. Blinking slowly as his breath slowly released.

 

This was...about more than just paying him back for all he’d done. It had to be.

 

Or else he was reading this situation very wrongly.

 

He narrowed his eyes down at the small figure in his hand. Closed his fingers around it with a frown.

 

_Ok…_

 

Pulled his hand closer as he looked towards MacCready, seeing that spark of concerned confusion building in his eyes again.

 

_...ok…_

 

Liam reached to remove his gas mask even as he tucked the wooden soldier safely in his pocket. Right next to Nora’s holotape, beside his heart.

 

_There was no doubt about it._

 

He hooked the mask onto his belt.

 

_He was in deep._

 

He took a step closer to MacCready, closing the distance between them. Now the sniper blinked at him, a little apprehensively...though there was that red tinging his cheeks again.

 

_And he'd never even seen it coming._

 

With that, he completely closed the gap between them.

 

And kissed the sniper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so much for ending on a hug.


	56. At dusk, we talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Title may be a reference to something nerdy. >>

Liam was kissing him.

 

_Liam_ was _kissing_ him.

 

Holy shi--crap. Was this actually happening? Or had he gotten so overwhelmed, so steeped in emotions as he revealed his past, that he was hallucinating all of this? Hell, maybe the deathclaw had actually attacked the two of them, and this was one of those “last things you see before you die” flashes.

 

But no.

 

Those were strong arms wrapped around him, and those were warm lips pressed against his own. And that was a hand stroking his hair comfortingly. Being a pillar. A shoulder to lean on once again; only literally this time instead of figuratively.

 

MacCready’s arms raised up, settling on Liam’s back as he got past the shock enough to return that soft pressure.

 

But...wasn’t Liam married?

 

He bunched a fist into the blonde’s shirt.

 

They were going to have to have a chat later; he was sure of it.

 

\---

 

Maybe this wasn’t the best idea.

 

Maybe he’d been too forward. Read the situation wrongly. Assumed something that wasn’t there.

 

Liam felt the tension building in his shoulders as he thought that maybe he should pull back and try to stammer out some sort of apology in hopes of repairing the damage this was sure to have caused--

 

But then he felt the same pressure returned as arms encircled his back, a fist bunching up in his shirt a minute later.

 

...so he _hadn’t_ read this completely wrong then.

 

He released a soft breath through his nose, the tension held in his shoulders going with it. Briefly, he debated on deepening the kiss. Just a bit. But he felt like that might be too much too soon. Besides, even though MacCready was definitely returning the kiss--with interest--there was still some hesitation there. And that didn’t sit well with him.

 

Not wanting it to end just yet--but knowing it needed to if he was going to find out what was wrong (if anything actually was)--Liam slowly pulled back, but only far enough that he could study MacCready’s face.

 

He seemed dazed, and...a little confused. And not just about the kiss ending. Yea, they definitely needed to clear up a few things, even if he didn’t know what. Hopefully the sniper would be forthright enough about what was bothering him.

 

Liam was suddenly aware of eyes on his back. But it wasn’t the sharpness of a threatening glare.

 

He blinked, raising his head away from MacCready’s to glance over his shoulder.

 

...oh. Right. He’d forgotten they still had an audience.

 

But there the (presumably) female deathclaw was. Still quietly watching as she stood vigil over her nest, head angled slightly.

 

…

 

...was it... _cooing_ at them?

 

He blinked again, then turned back towards the sniper, a slight smirk lifting the corner of his mouth. “Deathclaws approve of affection, I guess.” He let the smirk drop, though, turning serious. “Something’s bothering you.” It wasn’t phrased as a question, but he did mean it as an inquiry.

 

MacCready’s gaze shifted away, suddenly unsure. Liam could see the mental debate going on in his friend’s head, clearly shown in the way he kept frowning to himself as his eyes almost bore holes into the ground. His eyes flicked up a few times, glancing at Liam, only to flick back down to the ground. Finally, he frowned more surely with an almost imperceptible nod, raising his gaze up fully to look the blonde in the eye.

 

“You...like me, right? As more than a friend I mean.”

 

Liam raised a brow, resisting the urge to smirk again. “I thought the kiss made that pretty obvious.”

 

The sniper flushed. “Well...yea, but…” He almost growled at himself, apparently growing frustrated. (Liam felt guilt that perhaps he’d caused that with his teasing.) “What about…” he trailed off again, looking around, before settling on the blonde’s hand, resting at his side. He jutted his chin towards it. “What about that?”

 

Liam blinked, brows drawing together as he raised up his wrist to glance at. “My...pip…” He trailed off, brows going up as he realized what the sniper was actually referring to with his gaze. The item on his hand; not his wrist. Particularly, the item that glinted gold in the late afternoon sunlight. “...Oh. Right...you wouldn’t have known about--… I only told Nick--...” He frowned. “Hm…” So _that’s_ what was bothering him. It all made sense now. Hell, it was pretty much the dam that had been holding Liam back from realizing his own feelings for the sniper. And that dam had broken when he’d been told about Lucy…

 

He hadn’t been very fair, had he.

 

Liam smiled sadly at the wedding ring he still wore. That he often forgot he was still wearing until something reminded him of the task at hand. The promise he needed to keep. His duty as a father and (widowed) husband.

 

He pushed back the spike of pain at his heart, not wanting to break down right now. Not when they still had a deathclaw watching them. A...friendly deathclaw, it seemed. But he didn’t know how she might react to signs of weakness.

 

Still smiling sadly, Liam looked at MacCready again, seeing a hint of concern in his eyes despite the confusion and mild accusation still being aimed his way. Liam smiled further at that, though it was with little mirth. He looked around at how the sun seemed to be getting lower the longer they stood here. “Tell you what…” He faced the sniper again. “How about we find somewhere safe to camp out, and...we’ll talk. ...about everything,” he added on.

 

That got a little of the unsureness to melt from his friend’s face at least. Finally, MacCready nodded, seemingly satisfied enough with the response. “Fine. But I’ll hold you to that.”

 

He didn’t doubt the sniper would.

 

\---

 

They ended up travelling at near record speed to reach Greentop by the time it got dark.

 

Liam had pointed out they needed to go back there anyway, to finally give them the good news about Dunwich being raider-free. (They left out the part about the creepy atmosphere and sounds and how they’d hopefully caved it in so no one could go back there.) They also would be closer to the next police station he’d wanted to check out to find another of Winter’s holotapes. MacCready had almost forgotten about that little scavenger hunt. He still wondered about the full details on that, but he did remember Liam pointing out how he’d explain everything if it turned out to be dangerous. Maybe he could finally find out about that, too…

 

But only if it came up. He had priorities.

 

Such as why Liam was wearing a wedding ring, yet had gone ahead and kissed MacCready like that. If the guy was married...well...he wasn’t sure if he wanted a part of that. Except…

 

The way Liam had looked at that golden band on his finger. Despite his reservations, he had wanted to pull the blonde forward into a hug. There was something big there, and...it sounded like he was finally going to find out. Solve the mystery of the ring.

 

Honestly, he was a little scared to find out. He was pretty sure he already knew the answer, but...he didn’t want to assume.

 

But if his heart was going to have any resolve, he needed to know. Because he was already in too deep.

 

The settlers were overjoyed at the news they were given, of course. So much so, that they agreed to join the Minutemen and would send supplies and reinforcements along as they could to help the cause. Greentop was a bustling farm, after all, so their produce would be a great boon to the growing number of mouths to feed. Liam let them know he would send word to Preston, and they would help them set up some better defenses to prevent any further attacks from happening again.

 

They also agreed to let the two of them stay for the night, as it was pretty late and they didn’t want to send them off in the dark. By the time the two of them were shown to a room they could bed down in, MacCready’s stomach was twisted into knots. He wasn’t even sure if he should start the impending conversation, or just let Liam come to him, so to speak (as they were already sharing the same room, which turned out be an extra space mainly used for storage; most of the house was like that, it seemed, so it wasn’t like they were putting anyone out). At least it would be somewhat private, as the two living on this farm slept at the other end of the house.

 

He was broken free of his contemplation at the _thud_ of Liam setting down his pack and taking out his bedroll.

 

...were they not going to talk then? Maybe Liam didn’t feel the space was private enough. Could what he had to say be that bad that he didn’t want strangers to overhear?

 

But MacCready stopped his thoughts. Coming to conclusions like that hadn’t gotten him anywhere before. Especially when it came to Liam, he noticed. The blonde always had a way of knocking all those doubts away. And...his gut was telling him this could be another of those times.

 

Didn’t mean he was any less apprehensive, though.

 

As if he finally noticed the sniper’s lack of movement, Liam looked his way, gas mask covered face lingering on him for a bit...before turning back to his pack and pulling out a glass bottle. “I don’t know about you,” he began by way of explanation, which was when MacCready noticed it was a bottle of whiskey, “but this feels like an alcohol moment.” He snorted to himself as he continued, “And I’m not even much of a drinker.”

 

Well, that settled it. They were definitely about to talk.

 

\---

 

“Her name was Nora…”

 

Liam tilted his glass, watching the amber liquid swirl around. He’d mostly drained it at this point, and while he was by no means a lightweight, it was enough to loosen his tongue to the point he felt more brave talking about this.

 

“Prettiest brunette I’ve ever seen. Smartest mouth I’ve ever met, too. That woman could outtalk the sharpest diplomat if she wanted to.” He chuckled fondly. “Definitely made for the world of law. No doubt she would’ve won that case if things hadn’t...well...yea…” He threw back the rest of his glass, grimacing at the burn in his throat. He wasn’t sure it was completely from the alcohol either.

 

MacCready sat with his back against the opposite wall, the look on his face unreadable as he contemplated his own pour of whiskey. He wasn’t _too_ far away, though; the room was more of a glorified closet than anything. Enough to lay out their sleeping bags with extra space in between, but not quite enough to stretch their legs across it without almost putting their feet in each others’ laps.

 

Made for the perfect atmosphere to “spill out his heart” as it were.

 

Taking a steadying breath, Liam reached for the bottle again, knowing he was going to need more fuel if he was to keep going. It had been bad enough reliving the “event” inside Kellogg’s head; forcing himself to remember and say everything out loud was...a different kind of difficult… It had taken long enough to recover after telling Nick the tale, and he’d only managed that because it had been necessary for the detective to have all the details to work with.

 

Glass topped off, he held the whiskey out to the sniper, who, after finally noticing the proffered bottle, threw back the rest of his own glass before accepting a refill as well.

 

With their liquid poison reacquired, Liam launched himself into telling MacCready the tale of how his world was taken away.


	57. Hung Up, Hungover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have this a day/night early since it actually felt finished yesterday. \o/  
> I almost feel like "Worry Worry Worry" is the theme for this chapter.

His head was throbbing.

 

MacCready winced as he opened his eyes, the bit of light streaming in feeling more like bullets right now. And that was without there being a window for it to shine through.

 

_ Ugh. How much did we drink last night? _

 

He’d lost track after the first few glasses, and at some point, he and Liam had started passing the bottle itself back and forth as the blonde spoke. The conversation had gotten...heavier than MacCready had expected. Maybe more so than Liam expected too.

 

But...losing his wife like that…

 

And right in front of him, too. Unable to do anything. Just watching helplessly as his son was snatched away from her lifeless arms.

 

It hadn’t even been that long ago for him either. Two months? Not even? If he’d woken up in that vault near the end of October and it was a little into December now…

 

How had Liam kept going after that? Hell, how he not gone insane with grief?

 

When MacCready had lost his own wife--even now, he still felt that sharp stab of grief hit--he’d still had his infant son to take care of. Duncan been his focus; his grounding point.

 

Or was that how Liam did it? He needed to stay sane, not sick with grief and mourning, because he was on a mission. He needed to keep his head about him so he would be able to hunt down the Institute and get his son back. That had to be it.

 

And after everything he’d done, MacCready planned to stick with him along the way. Whether he accomplished it or not.

 

…

 

What was that sound?

 

It was like...some kind of wind or whooshing noises very close to his ear. It had been going on for awhile, but he hadn’t noticed it.

 

MacCready started looking around, only now realizing this wasn’t the side of the room he’d started out on last night. He was now on the opposite side of the room. The side Liam had originally chosen.  And his own bedroll was very much empty…

 

He froze as his cheek brushed something soft.

 

_ … _

 

_ Wait… _

 

_ Is that... _

 

He turned his head a bit downward, towards the softness he could hear that equally soft sound coming from…

 

...only to find a head of blonde hair resting on his shoulder, the owner of which leaning somewhat against him from where they’d fallen asleep.

 

MacCready stared.

 

Blinked.

 

Stared some more.

 

…

 

Nope. That was definitely a sleeping Liam leaning against his shoulder.

 

And he couldn’t for the life of him remember how that had happened.

 

…

 

No.

 

Wait.

 

That wasn’t true…

 

MacCready squinted as he thought.

 

He  _ vaguely _ remembered moving to sit next to Liam as he told his tale because the guy looked like he needed the favor returned in having a shoulder to lean on. He just...didn’t expect to wake up to  _ literally _ being that shoulder to lean on.

 

He blinked again, unsure of what to do.

 

What time was it anyway?

 

MacCready squinted at his watch.

 

Late enough that they should get moving. And maybe find some actual food for breakfast. It wasn’t as though they’d had dinner.

 

...unless a full bottle of whiskey between the two of them counted.

 

He winced.

 

Certainly explained the headache. He wondered if Liam would be faring just as badly when he woke up. Not like he’d ever drank with the guy before, so there was no way of knowing if he could hold his own or not.

 

...in fact, that had probably been the first time he’d ever seen him drink alcohol. Ironic, really, since they’d met at a bar.

 

He looked at the golden head of hair resting on his shoulder again. He looked...pretty peaceful actually.

 

Not to mention kind of pretty.

 

MacCready found himself blushing at that.

 

It was weird to find a guy “pretty”, but Liam just...was. In a guy-ish way, of course. And definitely male. Which he was ok with. Not that he’d ever been in a relationship with a guy before...but he’d definitely looked and found some guys pleasing to the eye.

 

His face grew warmer.

 

Had to get ahold of himself before Liam caught him like that. He didn’t really know if he wanted to explain why his cheeks were flaming red.

 

But...how to get out of this predicament (and did he even want to?). He wasn’t about to just...shrug Liam off his shoulder. That would be a rather rude awakening, especially after a bender. Or maybe that military training he’d mentioned would trigger a more violent reaction.

 

Yea, MacCready definitely didn’t want to experience that.

 

Maybe a more gentle approach then?

 

Hesitantly, the sniper raised up his hand...paused unsurely in debate...and found himself setting it on Liam’s cheek before he’d fully made up his mind.

 

He froze.

 

_ Shi-- ...well...damn, what now. _

 

He was afraid to remove his hand. But if he didn’t, and he got caught like this instead, then...then what? Was it really a big deal? They’d friggin’  _ kissed _ , for crying out loud! And even if it hadn’t been a deep kiss--his face felt warmer--this was a lot more chaste than that. Somewhat, anyway.

 

…

 

He found himself angling his head to study Liam’s face more closely.

 

He kind of...wanted to kiss him.

 

And could he possibly blush any more?

 

(Apparently so.)

 

But again, was it really a big deal? They’d kissed already the other day, so it was obvious Liam liked him. It should be fine if MacCready initiated a kiss this time. Even if he did feel like he should ask permission first, or at least clarify where they stood. Even finding out the blonde was indeed as single as he was, and for a reason as eerily (and tragically) similar as his own, they hadn’t actually discussed the two of them. As a “them” anyway. If Liam wanted them to be a…“them”.

 

Lost as he was in his mental debate/internal crisis, he failed to initially realize the moment Liam’s eyelids fluttered.

 

Until they blinked open blearily.

 

_ Shi-- _

 

\---

 

Liam blinked a few times, trying to process if something had in fact brushed past his face. Or...off his face? Maybe he’d just dreamed it.

 

...even if his cheek did feel colder than it had a second ago…

 

He frowned at the odd angle he found the room at. Was he sitting up? Had he actually slept sitting all night? Still frowning to himself, Liam lifted his head, pushing himself off of the warm (???) form he’d been leaning against.

 

And groaned as the movement sent a pulse of pain through his head.

 

_ What the hell… _

 

He brought a palm to his forehead, breathing slowly as he massaged at his temples. It wasn’t the  _ worst _ headache he’d had, but it was not a pleasant thing to wake up to. He cracked open his eyes again carefully, mindful of the light streaming in that could make the headache worse, and caught sight of the tipped over whiskey bottle.

 

The  _ empty _ tipped over whiskey bottle.

 

The empty bottle that had not spilled, which therefore meant that he and MacCready had finished it last night.

 

He grunted an acknowledgement of that as the night’s events (before they’d gone blurry) came back to him.

 

That’s right. He’d needed a bit of “liquid courage” to get through telling MacCready about--…

 

He held his next breath, releasing it slowly.

 

Yea...that hadn’t been fun to relive. But honestly, it had been good to get it out. Therapeutic in a way.

 

He snorted, unsure how MacCready would feel about being labelled “therapist”. Speaking of…

 

Liam carefully lifted his head again, moving his hand out of the way to better see the empty bedroll across from him. It...didn’t seem slept in, so…

 

He sat up straighter, remembering the warm form he’d moved away from.

 

Blinking once, he turned his head to the side...

 

And there was MacCready. Looking everywhere in the room that wasn’t in the blonde’s direction. And...was it Liam’s imagination, or was the sniper’s face a bit red?

 

He blinked again, mumbling out a quiet, “Hey.”

 

He received a grunt and a nod at that, but still MacCready’s eyes kept off of him. His brow creased with concern. “You ok?” He kept his voice low to avoid aggravating his headache. Come to think of it, maybe his friend was facing the same ordeal. His eyes slid to the empty whiskey bottle again.

 

MacCready seemed to tense up at the question. “Yea. Fine. Just...head hurts a bit is all.”

 

Liam blinked. He figured as much, but...it seemed like more was bothering him than just a headache. Not wanting to press him too much, but hoping the sniper would let him know what was wrong if it turned out to be something serious he could help with, Liam let the subject drop, turning to look at the rest of the small room again. He ‘hmm’d to himself in thought. “Right then…” he breathed out, then carefully got to his feet with a grunt. Casting another glance about to check if he’d dropped anything other than the whiskey bottle, he turned back towards the sniper. “How about we find something to eat? Might help with the headache.” Especially since it had to be partly hunger based.

 

Again, MacCready just sort of grunted at that, still choosing not to look his way.

 

Liam frowned, disappointed. He cast his eyes away, brow furrowing in mental debate. Nodding imperceptibly, the blonde glanced back over.

 

He held out a hand.

 

MacCready just looked at it in surprise for a moment, almost like he was afraid it would bite him (Liam was even preparing to make a teasing remark), before he finally grabbed it with a bit of hesitation. Liam wasted no time hauling him to his feet, again wondering what could be weighing on the sniper’s mind. Then, on a bit of an impulse, he pulled the sniper forward, closing the short distance between them to bring their lips together in a quick peck. He pulled back, amused to see MacCready blinking at him with a dazed expression. At least he was finally looking his way.

 

He was adorable like that too. Liam couldn’t resist smirking as he spoke, gesturing with his chin towards the doorway. “Come on. Let’s grab our stuff so we can get out of here.”

 

Giving the sniper’s hand one last squeeze because he could, he released it so he could stoop to roll up his sleeping bag.

 

\---

 

...ok.

 

That...hadn’t been the conversation he’d been expecting. Not even a conversation at all. But...honestly, just those actions had spoken a lot louder than words.

 

Liam definitely liked him as more than a friend. MacCready was definitely at least  _ as _ interested.

 

And there had been full confirmation that they were both single.

 

Whether it was “too soon” for Liam or not, he didn’t know. But he was excited to figure out where this would go. He still intended to have a more in-depth conversation...but for now, he pretty much knew where they stood.

 

It had been a huge risk dumping his life story on Liam like that, but it had definitely been worth it. For once in his life, everything seemed to be going right.


	58. The Road to Nahant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't have any enlightening or interesting comments to add, but yea. This is basically what happened in the game.  
> Enjoy?

_ Everything seemed to be going right. _

 

He just  _ had _ to think that, didn’t he?

 

So of course the universe needed to throw a wrench at MacCready’s good mood…

 

_ Oh great, it’s the Brotherhood… _ He barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes at spotting the signature power armored buffoon--as well as a couple of non-metalheads--on the only path to where they were heading next.  _ Literally _ the only path, as their destination--Nahant--was something of a pseudo island, only accessible via a narrow road built into the water. The only reason it wasn’t actually an island, apparently.

 

So of course the metal behemoth stepped right in front of them as they approached.

 

“This area is under our protection,” came the female voice from behind the visor. A thinly veiled threat if he ever heard one. “No civilians are to pass through the area without official permission.”

 

MacCready’s grip tightened on his rifle. They didn’t have time for this crap; they had places to be, and Liam had been so sure another Eddie Winter holotape could be found out here. He was so curious to find out the purpose of these tapes, they couldn’t stop collecting them now. (How many had Liam found anyway?) He felt his ire beginning to rise, the start of a snarky remark forming on his tongue--but then Liam stepped forward, cutting him off physically from the POS BoS.

 

“Then you’ll need to let us pass.” What was he doing? Was he crazy?? MacCready resisted the urge to pull him back as the blonde continued. “We’re here on official business for one Detective Nick Valentine of Diamond City, in the pursuit of a possible murder suspect.”

 

“Oh really.” Metalhead didn’t sound too convinced, but she wasn’t pointing her weapon at them. That was probably a good sign. “And where can this criminal be found?”

 

Liam shook his head. “Location unknown I’m afraid. But  _ that _ is why I’m collecting evidence. Sources lead me to Nahant for the next lead to follow. This case will be cracked; I’ll see to it.”

 

The visor pointed at the blonde silently for a moment, possibly hiding narrowing eyes, before it shifted to the side. MacCready got the feeling she was side-eyeing Liam. Measuring his worth or some crap. But still, her weapon remained lowered. “And where is this Detective Valentine now?” She seemed to be wavering a bit. Hell, even the two off to the side were looking more curious than anything now.

 

Luckily, Liam was ready for her question, answering without hesitation. “Following another lead. This case is too big for one man to handle alone if justice is to be served.”

 

She stayed silent a moment longer...before finally sighing out a bit of a huff. And stepping a bit to the side. Holy crap. “Fine. As you were. But don’t think we won’t be keeping an eye on you, civilian.”

 

MacCready stared as Liam just nodded deeply with a “Thank you for your understanding” before turning back to the sniper and snapping him out of his daze as he gestured with his head for him to follow. MacCready scrambled to get moving, fighting the urge to glare at any of the Brotherhood soldiers as they passed them (or stick out his tongue at them; he did that mentally instead). He felt their suspicious gazes burning holes into his back long after they were out of earshot.

 

“Jackasses…” he muttered, only a little sorry for swearing.

 

“I concur,” he heard Liam mutter back.

 

Still, though… “Smooth work back there, coming up with that story.” That had been an impressive display, Liam BS-ing his way past those shi--er, jerks. No way MacCready would’ve managed that one.

 

“Who says it was a story?”

 

The sniper blinked.

 

At his silence, the blonde turned towards him, lifting his gas mask up enough to reveal a slight smirk. “Sometimes the truth can get you much farther.” And with that, the gas mask slipped back into place as he continued to walk.

 

MacCready blinked again.  _ Hold on… _ He frowned. “But you mentioned a murder suspect?” And how was that the truth? Weren’t they pursuing a long-cold case that dated back to pre-war? Collecting holotapes left behind by a mob boss that bought his way to freedom via the incriminating evidence he’d recorded on said holotapes?

 

“I did, yea.”

 

MacCready waited for him to elaborate. Waited. And waited. Before Liam finally glanced towards the silence and likely got the idea that a better answer was expected. “Ah, right.” MacCready could almost hear the blonde’s brows go up in understanding. “I started to explain this back in Natick, didn’t I? Before the Brotherhood interrupted.” He looked forward again, mumbling, “They always seem to be around when we’re searching for these tapes, don’t they…” Raising his voice back up again, he continued, “I haven’t very been fair, have I. You deserve to know what’s going on, and I do trust you enough...

 

“It’s just…” He shook his head a bit. “It’s one of those long, complicated stories, and I wanna make sure we’re somewhere safe before I explain any of it, without anyone to overhear. ...or at least somewhere quieter…” he added on at the whirring of an approaching vertibird, followed by the overzealous robotic shouting of “Get some, you maggots!” from a Mister Gutsy already charging at the flying machine as it got too close to the abandoned military convoy it was still guarding. “Here we go…” he sighed out, already tugging on MacCready’s arm to lead him towards a bit of low wall on the side of the road.

 

MacCready didn’t fight him in this, already not wanting anything to do with the metal versus metal battle. He thought it wiser to join Liam behind their makeshift cover and watch it all from the sidelines. Especially when a couple of molotovs joined the mix. Apparently there were raiders up ahead, too.

 

_ “Intruder alert!” _

 

_ \--clang clang clang clang-- _

 

...and an assaultron. Great. Just great.

 

He turned at Liam’s scoff. “Me thinks the Brotherhood needs to learn the definition of ‘protection’…” The gas mask angled towards him as he continued. “I mean, one vertibird? It’s not like their airship is very far.” That was true; it was a lot closer now that they’d moved farther east. “They could send another since they apparently have a ton of the damn things. ...or teach their pilots when scouting is the wiser choice,” he pointed out as the chopper’s guns were firing on overdrive, yet barely scratching the crazed robots. The raiders seemed to be gone at least.

 

“They’re probably low on brains with how many they’ve lost,” MacCready pointed out with a sardonic smirk.

 

“Heh. Probably.”

 

But it looked like the pilot had picked up on their thoughts somehow, as they finally gained more altitude and turned a hasty retreat. Maybe they finally were learning.

 

Unfortunately, they had left the two crazed robots behind.

 

The two crazed robots that had picked up on other signs of life.

 

The two crazed robots that  _ were charging right at them! _

 

“Shit.”

 

They scrambled out of their makeshift cover just as a combination of rapid bullet fire and fiery red laser blasted the worn cement wall.

 

\---

 

_ BOOOMMMM _

 

_ KRAK-KOOOOOOOOOM _

 

Liam held back a cringe as the two cars blew up. “...my bad.”

 

He didn’t need to look at the sniper to know he was being given the most incredulous glare. “You really need to work on your aim. What were you even trying to hit?”

 

“Oh, shut up,” he shot back, but with little malice, already heading towards the mangled wreck of metal a few feet away. At least  _ that _ pile wasn’t on fire like the cars were. “We got rid of the robots at least. That’s what counts.”

 

“Yea. Because I did most of the work,” he could hear MacCready pointing out from somewhere behind him, the sniper apparently trailing after him. There was a definite teasing edge to his voice.

 

“Oh really. And who took out the assaultron before it could fire a second shot?”

 

“Please. That thing was about to fall over anyway. You only got the finishing blow.”

 

“True. But the finishing blow is the most important one.”

 

“One that you happened to steal from me.”

 

“Not my fault you oh-so-nicely set it up. You made it hard to resist sweeping in like that.”

 

“Doesn’t mean you needed to take it…” Was he pouting?

 

“Didn’t I though? It was too good to pass up. And you gotta admit, the results were pretty satisfying.”

 

There was a silence following that statement that stretched on for a bit.

 

“...are we even talking about the same thing anymore?”

 

Liam raised a brow with a smirk, hidden beneath the mask. “I don’t know. I was talking about blowing up robots. What did  _ you _ think I meant?” Now that it was pointed out, he did see how it was possible for his words to have more than one meaning. He wasn’t sure if it had been intentional or subconscious on his part, but he found he didn’t mind.

 

“I--...nothing,” MacCready clipped, apparently flustered. “Shut up.” He even  _ sounded _ like he was blushing.

 

Liam snickered to himself, already picturing how adorable the sniper must look right now. But he made no comment, sparing MacCready for the moment as he reached the crumpled form of one assaultron. 

 

What had once been a metal-encased laser for a head was now a series of bent bits and scrap metal. Good riddance. And all the better to build his own defenses with.

 

He pocketed what was salvageable, turning back towards the sniper, and seeing he had already moved towards the other fallen robot. Of course. Mister Gutsies tended to have a good amount of ammo on them; all the better to trade with.

 

As he approached, he saw MacCready’s blue eyes flick towards him from where he was crouched in front of the pile of metal. There was still a hint of the predicted blush on the sniper’s cheeks, but there was also something else. Something sparkling in his shifted eyes and making his mouth twitch a bit, as if he was holding something back that he really wanted to say.

 

Liam raised a brow, waiting for whatever it was.

 

He didn’t have to wait long.

 

“Looks like this Mister Gutsy is now a Mister Gutsless.”

 

Liam stared.

 

Stared.

 

Slowly lifted a hand to raise up his gas mask and continue to stare some more.

 

MacCready’s eyes continued to sparkle at him mischievously.

 

Liam raised an index finger as if he was about to comment...but then thought better of it and let both it and the gas mask drop again as he continued to stare...and then turned to walk down the road without a word.

 

_ Damn it _ , it had been really hard not to laugh at that pun.

 

He heard a snicker from behind him, followed by the shuffle of feet trying to keep up. “Oh, come on. You can’t say you didn’t find that funny.”

 

Oh, he did find it funny. Which was why he was finding it difficult to keep a straight face. Thank you, gas mask.

 

MacCready scoffed at his silence. “Fine. Keep pretending. But we both know you wanted...to...laugh...” he trailed off as he looked ahead. “What the hell…?”

 

That gave Liam the strength to finally straighten his face, and actually focus on his surroundings. He glanced at MacCready, finding him staring at something ahead. Following the sniper’s gaze, he saw...

 

‘What the hell’ indeed. There was a guy. Just a random guy. Walking down the street. And just like Liam a second ago, he didn’t seem aware that anyone else was around. He just kept walking with a dazed expression, and seemed to be...muttering to himself.

 

“...his face...but how could it...looked just like...oh god…”

 

Liam paused, blinking as the stranger drew nearer, still not acknowledging the other two’s presence. He wasn’t getting a ‘dangerous’ vibe off this guy, but still, the blonde drew his rifle into a more ready position. Just in case. (But still hopefully subtle enough to not spook him into an unneeded fight.)

 

“Um…” The blonde cleared his throat as the stranger drew nearer, taking in his travel-worn (and a bit battle-worn?) appearance. “Hello?”

 

“Huh?” The guy finally seemed to notice the two of them, drawing back a bit. He didn’t pull a weapon on them, though, so that was probably a good sign. Which--considering the bodies of the raiders Liam was now noticing from the Brotherhood’s short battle--might also be considered a  _ bad _ sign. Still, though, he wasn’t getting any ‘danger’ vibes. Even VATS wasn’t telling him to be on guard, and it was usually a good judge of character (for whatever reason; he didn’t understand the technology built into his pip-boy). “Um...sorry, just--...” he sighed shakily. “Look, I’m...I’m not really up for chatting right now. So if it’s all the same to you, I’d just like to be on my way, alright?”

 

Because that wasn’t strange. Or…--again, Liam glanced at the strewn about raiders and the random metal and leather they called armor, noting how this guy was dressed more like a scavenger in his tattered coat and much more sane expression--...maybe it wasn’t that strange at all. This guy had witnessed a battle that he didn’t seem have been a part of. Or maybe he’d been hiding from the raiders, trying to lose them, and then the Brotherhood had shown up and put a stop to it, all while drawing the attention of two crazed robots…

 

Yea, this guy not wanting anything to do with the random strangers that had shown up afterwards and only wanting to get away was very understandable.

 

So, even though he felt like he was missing something big, Liam nodded, stepping a bit to the side to give the guy more space to keep walking. “Alright. I hear you,” he responded, keeping his voice calm so as not to alarm him. “Good luck to you then. Oh, but,” he added on, remembering something. “Be mindful of the Brotherhood patrol up ahead. I had to haggle my way past them to come this way.”

 

The stranger nodded back, a little less shaky now, but still looking like he wanted nothing more than to leave this place. “Alright. And thanks,” he replied, rather clipped, already starting to rush down the road again at a quick pace.

 

They watched him go for a bit before MacCready--predictably--had a word or two to say about that. “Is it smart letting him go like that?” But then the sniper surprised him with what he said next. “Shouldn’t we at least...point out somewhere safe he can go?”

 

Liam blinked, feeling a warm sense of pride develop. Despite the smile pushing its way forward, he shook his head. “No. I would have told him about one of the settlements nearby he could rest at, but...” He stared off in the stranger’s general direction again. “Honestly, he looked like he didn’t want anything to do with other people right now. Let him be alone if that’s what he needs.” At MacCready’s incredulous stare, he added, “If anything happens involving that guy, I’m pretty sure I’ll hear about it at some point. Swear I get drawn into everything eventually...” he muttered, turning to continue forward on their path again as the sniper’s expression melted into one of acknowledgement of his words.

 

There was the police station up ahead, at least, and with nothing else blocking their way to it. The building looked a little worse for wear, with most of the front wall missing, and even parts of the upper floor crumbling down. But it wasn’t sliding down a hill into a body of water, so he’d take it.

 

Liam stepped over the remaining bricks marking the building’s corner, casting his eyes about for a good place to start. They’d want a terminal, maybe a safe he could pick…

 

“Um…” MacCready’s voice calling from behind a crumbled wall caught his attention. “You might want to look at this.” The urgency and slight panic in his voice got the blonde over there quickly. He almost asked what was wrong, but spotting what the sniper was staring at answered that question right away.

 

A body.

 

The  _ stranger’s _ body.

 

The stranger that they had just sent walking down the road  _ in the opposite direction _ .

 

Liam stared down at it, feeling his heart start to race just as questions and theories also started racing through his head. None of them good. The first issue he’d read of  _ Publick Occurrences _ stood out the strongest. The one titled  _ The Synthetic Truth _ .

 

What was it that guy had been muttering to himself?

 

_ “...his face...looked just like…” _

 

If this was what he’d really been freaked out about, and this was the direction he’d just come from, then…

 

Liam had only one word he wanted to say right now.

 

“Shit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HI ART BYE ART


	59. Less than Great News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't turning out to be the best day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Picking up right where we left off.

He was a synth.

 

A copy. A clone of a living person.

 

Or...this body they were staring at was the copy, and the original had come across him, and they’d battled it out, and…

 

They could’ve just let the wrong one walk.

 

_ They might’ve let a synth copy walk free. _

 

But he’d been pretty shaken up. And he hadn’t tried to attack them. Though...that could be because they hadn’t come across his double yet. If they  _ had _ found the double first, it might’ve gone a whole different way. There could be two bodies instead of one right now. Hell, the shakiness could’ve been an act for all he knew. MacCready was no expert on synths. He just knew that sometimes there were replacements. People were kidnapped, a synth in their likeness was deployed, and the Institute would have a new spy out in the field to gather intel from unknowing people.

 

_ Had they just let a spy escape? _

 

“Shit,” he heard Liam breathe out the word again, lifting up his mask to look at the sniper. MacCready could tell from his eyes that he had come to the same conclusion. Even as Liam turned to look out at the street again. The sniper turned to look, too.

 

The guy was nowhere in sight. There wasn’t even the sound of a conflict from the Brotherhood patrol up the road, so either he hadn’t gotten there yet, or they had let him pass without a problem.

 

Damn.

 

“This…is a little above my pay grade.” Liam’s attempt at a joke fell flat.

 

“You wouldn’t be able to afford my rate if I was still charging you,” MacCready said by way of agreement.

 

They both continued to look down the empty road as the exploded cars slowly burned themselves out, sending tendrils of smoke up into the air.

 

The blonde released a shaky breath a few seconds later. “The fact is…” He flicked his eyes towards the still form at their feet--“...there’s nothing we can actually do.”--before sliding his gas mask back into place again. “Nothing at all.”

 

The sniper side-eyed him curiously. “So...what, we do nothing?” That didn’t sound like Liam.

 

He got a sigh in response. “For now, we do what we came here for. After that…” He shook his head. “I don’t know. This is…” He waved a hand at the duplicate of the stranger. “...not something I’ve had to deal with before.”

 

“But…” MacCready turned to face him fully. “That guy we let go. What if he’s dangerous? What if he’s a spy or something?”

 

“Still nothing we can really do.” He shook his head again when the sniper opened his mouth to protest, prompting him to shut it again with a frown. “He’s long gone, Mac. Either gotten past the Brotherhood, or found a place to hide by now. And chasing him down doesn’t seem like it would solve anything.

 

“Honestly...that guy seemed shaken up. Outright terrified. By this apparently.” He gestured downward with his chin (once again comically looking like he was pointing with the gas mask filter). “Whether he’s a synth or not… Infiltrator or victim…” Again, he shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. I don’t think he’s out to do anything right now. Except maybe get away from everyone until he can wrap his head around this.”

 

MacCready wasn’t so sure of that...but Liam had a point. What could they possibly do when the guy was nowhere in sight? Hell, in their time talking and debating over the matter, he could be anywhere by now.

 

Liam seemed pretty done with the subject, too, sending one last glance down at the body at their feet, before finally stepping back into the other “room” of the station.

 

\---

 

_ Fucking Institute… _

 

What the hell were they doing duplicating people like that? It wasn’t the first time he’d heard of people being cloned and replaced, but it had been his first real encounter with an actual copy.

 

Sure, there had been that accusation in Diamond City that had ended in the death of the accuser, and then that guy in Goodneighbor the watch had gunned down on suspicion of him acting funny…

 

But those had been single people. No duplicate in sight.  _ This _ time, he’d seen the clone. Seen the replica with his very eyes. And he wasn’t sure which one was the original…

 

For the second time in twenty-four hours, Liam wanted alcohol. He sincerely hoped this wasn’t going to become a trend.

 

...and apparently, in his musing stupor, he’d stumbled right across the holotape. Huh.

 

Liam picked up the tape marked “Winter #5” from the desk he’d nearly walked into. Only a few more to go.

 

He popped it into his pip-boy to listen to as he walked--and hopped in the case of broken flooring--around, looking for any intact terminal that could hint at the locations of the other tapes. The usual pretty much.

 

_ “Message to Sal Barsconi…” _

 

He stowed away an old telephone that was in decent shape in passing, ignoring the sneer from a certain sniper that he could practically hear over Winter’s voice.

 

_ “You and I clearly need to talk. About Danvers, about the Montrano mess, about everything...” _

 

Hardly paying the ongoing message any mind--he barely knew what Winter was talking about anyway; something about a meeting going wrong at a theater?--Liam carried on in his search, each smashed terminal causing that glimmer of hope to fade bit by bit.

 

_ “Those people are dead on your orders...” _

 

_ Come on. There’s gotta be one here somewhere… _

 

Winter went on about arranging a meeting with the guy the tape was aimed at--Barsconi--specifically using the number “two” in his message. Had to be one of the numbers in the passcode. But Liam barely noted that, having finally spotted a working terminal and wasting no time in (carefully) speeding over to it.

 

_ “Eddie Winter, signing off.” _

 

“And Liam O’Keeffe, signing in,” the blonde muttered to himself as he tapped away at the keys. It wasn’t locked, luckily--not that that would’ve been a problem with the practice he’d gotten across the Commonwealth--so soon enough, he was in, giving a mental cheer as he spotted Winter’s name amongst the list of cases that appeared on-screen.

 

He glanced over the other cases for the hell of it, knowing there tended to be some real comedy gold in there. He snorted aloud at the “Beverages disposed of by staff”. Yea, he was sure they had “disposed” of them. Quite efficiently. Then snorted even louder at the “indecency” case requiring the Biohazard Disposal Division. The one on the possible “Nuka Killer”...was less amusing. He suppressed a shudder as he remembered that story being in the news. How there’d always be bottlecaps left in the victim’s eye sockets.

 

Finally moving on to the reason they were here, Liam’s eyes flicked over the screen. Nodding, he noted down East Boston...and paused, staring down at his pipboy.

 

Liam looked straight ahead, through the broken wall and towards the peninsula that was East Boston.

 

Straight at the hovering form of the Brotherhood’s airship.

 

_ Well. That’s...great. _

 

Even he didn’t know if that was sarcasm.

 

Turning, he found MacCready lingering nearby, looking like he hadn’t been curious about what was on the terminal that the blonde had found so funny. He wasn’t even doing a good job of pretending to study random paperwork on another desk either. Liam raised a brow, but didn’t acknowledge the (poor) act. “So...good news and bad news.”

 

The sniper did jump at that, though, which wasn’t fake. Liam might have smiled a little. “Huh? What do you mean?” It was amazing how fast he could switch on the suspicion.

 

_ Or maybe he just knows me well. _ Out loud, the blonde said, “Well, good news is, the next holotape isn’t very far. The bad news is…” He turned to look out the broken wall again, sensing MacCready doing the same. And scowling. “...it’s that way.”

 

MacCready blinked at that. “Come again?”

 

“It’s…” Liam sighed out, “...near where the Brotherhood is. Not far from their airship, it looks like...”

 

Now MacCready looked like he’d swallowed something disgusting.

 

Liam just looked out the pseudo-window again with another sigh. “Yea…” It wasn’t like he had the same dislike for the Brotherhood that the sniper obviously did--and for good reason it sounded like--but that didn’t mean he  _ liked _ the group. Especially from what he’d seen. Though...who knew. Maybe that group on the road wasn’t how they all were. They had sounded like soldiers, and soldiers followed the orders they were given. It could just be that “management” wasn’t the best. And “management” would likely be on their ship, which was unfortunately in the direction they were heading. Since Liam was unsure if he wanted to fully join the Brotherhood (yet?), he was just as unsure about accidentally meeting their leader. That, and the area might have more protection than he was willing to deal with. Haggling with a troupe of three soldiers who looked like they wanted nothing more than to be anywhere else was one thing. Walking on actually claimed military territory was another.

 

Sighing again (he was doing that a lot right now), Liam turned back towards the sniper. “I don’t need to say this next one might get complicated, I’m guessing…”

 

No need indeed.

 

\---

 

They didn’t head to East Boston right away.

 

Not that MacCready was eager to get closer to the Brotherhood’s giant gas tank. He just couldn’t help feeling like Liam was...stalling.

 

Hell, they were walking around this area still, picking through random houses for scrap. They could do that anywhere.

 

But no. Liam felt like looking around, he’d said.

 

So here they were. Pulling open the gate to the rest of the “island” and walking through the remains of a higher class neighborhood (which they could figure out from the bigger houses and how spaced apart they were). The pickings weren’t even that much better. Most of the time a bigger house meant a bigger mess.

 

There were plenty of seagulls, though. Probably ready to shi-- _ ah _ , crap on them if they weren’t paying attention. Or even snatch the food right out of their hands--or packs, if the birds were feeling evil enough.

 

MacCready sneered at them.

 

One of the many reasons he wasn’t a fan of the sea.

 

And then they heard the gunshots. And laser weapons. And--

 

_ KA- _ **_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM_ ** _ \-- _

 

\--a car blowing up nearby.

 

He saw the fiery reflection off the lenses of Liam’s gas mask as the blonde stared off that way, also being caught off guard by the sudden quarrel ahead. With the way the fog was rolling in--damn the coast--they hadn’t really seen the battle brewing before they were almost on top of it. Luckily, that meant the battl _ ers _ hadn’t spotted them either.

 

The blonde glanced his way, gesturing at the bushes on the side of the road before he started moving towards them carefully. He followed willingly--ducking a few times as the morons proved that their aim was actually worse than Liam’s.

 

Putting his scope to his eye didn’t help clear up matters either. The fog was just too thick to see past.

 

“...nd another one bites the dust…”

 

But by that voice on the wind and the unstable edge it held, he felt pretty confident in guessing they were raiders. Great. But who were they fighting?

 

By how quickly it died down, it probably didn’t matter. He didn’t really feel like dealing with raider remnants anyway.

 

Neither did Liam, apparently.

 

MacCready thought he heard the guy sigh as he glanced towards the end of the pseudo-island, then down at his pipboy. He could practically feel a frown on the blonde’s face, especially when he looked up again. “Maybe we should just...get this over with. We’re only wasting time now. And honestly…” He flicked his chin--again, amusingly looking like he was pointing with the gas mask filter--towards the died down kerfuffle (kerfuffle??). “I don’t feel like dealing with the mess the Brotherhood is supposedly taking care of. Maybe we’ll come back here another time and see if they’ve made any ‘progress’...” That last word was said with heavily implied air quotes.

 

“So...that means we’re going…?”

 

“Yea,” Liam breathed out. “East Boston. Let’s go say ‘hi, please don’t notice us’ to the Brotherhood’s airship.”


	60. Chicken Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revere Satellite Array.  
> Why was it some places never stayed clear?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That title will make sense. Just go with it.

Reaching East Boston meant crossing a narrow area of land to reach a peninsular situation.

 

So basically almost like where they’d just been. Except in this case…

 

Liam watched the lumbering green forms as they clomped around on metal walkways and makeshift scaffolding.

 

...they had to get past a super mutant infested satellite array first.

 

Was there no place that wasn’t being blocked or guarded by things that wanted to rip their faces off?

 

He huffed, lowering his scope. “Guess I was being too hopeful.”

 

MacCready raised a brow as he also lowered his rifle.

 

Seeing the unspoken question in his eyes, Liam explained, “I’ve been here before. Followed an old trail here that led me to the missing members of a Brotherhood squad originally sent to scout out the area. But things went to shit and they ended up running. One by one they got picked off until one remained. This isn’t where that one is--he’s...kind of in hiding since he feels like he failed them so I’m respecting his wishes to be left alone...but this is one of the areas they passed through.” He turned to watch the twisted canine form of a mutant hound pad across the open ground beneath the giant satellites. “Now, I’m not sure if it was occupied by super mutants at the time, but it definitely was when I got here. Needless to say, I’m glad I’m so good at stealthing.”

 

“So you managed to sneak past them all?”

 

“I...took a lot of them by surprise, yea.” Sneaking had only gotten him so far unnoticed, but it had made a big difference, gaining him the upper hand...for awhile anyway..

 

MacCready just stared. Glanced towards the satellites. Back to the blonde. Back and forth again. “...you took out an  _ entire _ array of super mutants?  _ By yourself? _ ”

 

“Well…” Liam avoided the sniper’s eye despite the mask covering his face. “Pretty...much, yea.” When he continued to receive a stare, he was quick to explain, “They weren’t really that strong. Or smart. Seriously. And I don’t think they expected a ‘puny human’ to be a match for them, let alone take them all out.” It had been a challenge, though; he remembered having to utilize every bit of cover he could come across. Even the makeshift cabin the lost patrol had been hauled up in, as rickety as that thing was. It was surprising it was still up there even. Hell, a lot of the scaffolding was held up by cables. Whoever had set it up must’ve known what they were doing.

 

“I’ve got an even better advantage this time, though.” At MacCready’s curious browraise, he hefted up the .50 caliber in his grasp. “A really good sniper rifle…” Liam smirked, lifting his mask to look straight at the sniper at his side. “...and of course, the best shot in the Commonwealth.”

 

That caused the brow to drop and be replaced with widened eyes. Not to mention an impressive amount of redness.

 

The blonde snickered softly to himself at the cute image. He’d never get tired of MacCready’s reactions.

 

Lowering his mask and nudging friend’s(?) side with his elbow, he gestured towards the future carnage in front of them. “Come on, hotshot, let’s add to our green count.”

 

\---

 

**_Bang--_ **

 

“What?!”

 

**_\--bang--_ **

 

“Where--”

 

**_\--bang--_ **

 

_ “Auuuggghhhh!” _

 

It went on this way for awhile, the two of them managing to land a number of killshots--even if Liam’s missed a few times, or sometimes took more than one (he did point out it wasn’t his forte, especially at this distance)--as the green oafs stumbled around in a fit of stupid as they tried to figure out who was shooting at them as their numbers slowly declined.

 

_ KRAK--fwoooooooooo-- _

 

...hold on, what was--

 

**_\--ooooooooooOOOOOO--_ **

 

_ Shit--! _

 

MacCready whipped his head towards Liam, seeing that he was distractedly aiming for another mutant through his scope. Without thinking, he shoved at the blonde, hard, causing him to stumble off to the side and away from the shrubs they had been using to hide from view. The sniper barely had enough time to dive the other way, just as a missile flew over the the spot they had just been, crashing into a tree somewhere behind with an explosive  _ crack _ and showering the two of them with splinters as the tree all but exploded.

 

Lowering his arm from his face once the wooden rain stopped, MacCready blinked at the jagged stump, watching the smoke drift up in tendrils. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liam scrambling to sit up with a groan from where he’d been shoved over in the sniper’s panic, turning to look as well--

 

\--before whipping his head around at another  _ Krakoom _ that the sniper now recognized as the sound of a missile launcher firing. 

 

_ Shit-- _

 

A quick, quiet, “Run,” was all the blonde said before they took off in opposite directions, seconds before the second projectile hit the shrub in a shower of dirt.

 

\---

 

Liam hunkered down behind a wide tree stump, listening carefully while he caught his breath. He’d lost track of MacCready as they dove away from the destruction, needing to keep his focus on moving,  _ keep moving or you’ll die _ . He could only hope the sniper had managed to get out of harm’s way and was waiting out the super mutant’s searching eye or finding better cover to snipe them out again. Things had quieted down some, sure, but there was no way of knowing if “rocket man” was out of ammo or not. Other than the hard way.

 

He dared to peek over the ragged edge of the tree stump, moving slowly to not draw unwanted attention.

 

And there the culprit was. High up on the dish of one of the bigger satellites. He hadn’t gotten a chance to climb that high the last time.  _ Wonder what else is hiding up there… _

 

Now, how the hell were they going to do this? “Rocket man” (as Liam was now calling him) was definitely aware of the two of them, and still seeking them out if the way he was pacing back and forth was any clue. No way of knowing how many missiles he had left either. They weren’t exactly a common commodity. Not like the .38s everyone else seemed to rely on. He had to run out sometime…

 

...and maybe that right there was how to beat him.

 

Liam glanced around again cautiously, mostly moving his eyes to reduce his movements as he sought out any other remaining green oafs, and any sign of a certain green hat. Neither sort seemed to be visible, which was both a worry and a relief. He didn’t know how many enemies were left, but MacCready seemed to be improving his stealth skills. That flash of pride from before ran through him.

 

He hunkered down behind the stump again, collecting his bearings as he tried to think of a plan that wasn’t the one he was thinking of. Strategizing was never his main skill, but he was no stranger to it. It was possible he could manage to sneak through the array again and take their enemy by surprise…but that was a lot of ground to cover, and with the enemy being so aware already, just attempting it would almost be suicide.

 

Liam sighed.

 

Looked like he had no choice.

 

Sending one more glance into the bushes and sparse woodland around him, he vaulted over the stump.

 

And dashed straight for the array.

 

\---

 

Where was Liam?

 

In the commotion, he’d lost sight of him, and what kind of friend (or more) did that make him?!

 

_ Stay calm, MacCready. He can take care of himself. _

 

Mostly, anyway.

 

**_I said stay calm._ **

 

Seriously, though. Where had the blonde gone? He was more than a little hesitant to peek out from behind the thicker tree he’d managed to find to seek him out. Good as it was at covering him, he doubted it could take a direct hit from a missile launcher any better than he could. But...still, he couldn’t stay here forever. Sooner or later, the mutants would come looking, even if it was just the one up high left. And with his luck, the “dumb and ugly” would take a direct shot at him with his powerful toy.

 

He shuddered at that.

 

But...those bushes farther back looked promising. And if he angled it just right, he might be able to sprint there with the tree blocking him from sight. It was better than staying in this single spot, and he might be able to take a better look around from behind the branches. Hell, maybe Liam was over there. That guy was too good at stealth to the point he might be able to hide in plain sight. Whatever the case, it was a better option than he was in now.

 

Mind made up, MacCready took a breath, counted to three, and dashed--

 

\--just in time to hear the impact of a missile.

 

_ WHAT-- _

 

He stumbled as he ran, nearly tripping over himself but somehow making it behind the bushes and crouching as low as he could as he waited for the inevitable.

 

...

 

...hold on.

 

Had that blast even been near him?

 

Come to think of it, it had seemed a bit more distant--

 

_ BOOOOOOOM _

 

Now  _ that _ one definitely hadn’t been near him. In fact, it seemed to have come from within the satellite array. What was…

 

He whirled around, rising up above the bush enough to get a better look, even if it was foolish.

 

_ Shi--! _

 

MacCready’s eyes went wide.

 

There was Liam. Zig-zagging around like a lunatic on jet, taking pot shots up at the scaffolding above.

 

And drawing the super mutant’s attention.

 

What was he--

 

The sniper’s breath caught in his throat at another  _ kra-koom _ of a missile launching.

 

And left him in a rush as Liam all but danced out of the way in a quick hopping sprint.

 

Who knew the blonde could move that fast? He wasn’t  _ actually _ on jet, was he?

 

MacCready’s frown at that thought was cut short as an ominous  _ beep beep beep _ cut through the other sounds and cacophony from the would-be battle going on. His eyes went wide, seeking out the source, then flew back towards his friend, who continued to play chicken with the super mutant and his missiles.

 

Unfortunately, Liam was so focused on the target above, he failed to notice the flashing red light that was drawing near.

 

Tamping down his rising panic, the sniper drew on that nervous energy, using it to snap up his rifle and take aim, breath held to keep steady with his finger on the trigger as a bald, green head crossed the line of his scope.

 

_ Bang! _

 

\---

 

This was insane.

 

Correction: this was  _ fucking  _ insane.

 

**_BOOOOOOOOOM_ **

 

He leapt away as the missile hit, spraying up a shower of dirt and rock.

 

Liam didn’t know how long he could keep this up, but he hoped it wouldn’t need to be for long. How many missiles did this guy have? Had they raided a silo or something??

 

_ \--beep beep beep-- _

 

_ Huh-- _

 

Liam’s eyes snapped away from the mutant above long enough to see another form of incoming doom.

 

In time to see its head explode from a well-placed bullet.

 

Wide eyes watched the mini nuke drop harmlessly to the ground as the suicider crumpled in a heap. He started to turn his head to see where the shot had come from, knowing it had to have been MacCready…

 

...as another  _ kra-koom _ caused his heart to nearly stop in dread.

 

He whipped his gaze back to the satellite--

 

\--to see another missile already closing in!

 

There was no chance to dodge.

 

He had to try anyway.

 

Liam leapt.

 

**_BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM_ **

 

\---

 

He blinked through the dust clouding his vision.

 

Or at least, he thought it was dust. It was kind of blurry and...hard to focus on.

 

His ears were ringing.

 

He blinked again. The dust didn’t clear.

 

That was odd. He was sure it should’ve at least settled by now. Was it stuck to his eyes?

 

Another blink.

 

Shouldn’t that have at least cleared it? Even if it wasn’t stinging his eyes like he was sure dust should be doing.

 

And what were those sounds past the ringing? Some kind of...shouting maybe? A rough and gravelly voice that might have been missing a few IQ points, and...a sharper and maybe younger one with some...pretty good insults, even if he couldn’t understand the words right now. And some banging? But it was like it was through water or something else that sloshed.

 

Liam blinked again. The dust remained.

 

He blinked. And groaned.

 

Pain erupted.

 

And his vision whited.

 

Along with the dust.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't play chicken with missiles.
> 
> Unless you're Liam. In which case, don't get distracted.


	61. Broadcast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good. Lord.  
> This chapter would not end.  
> I almost split it up into two, even entertained the idea of posting one a few days early as an extra due to how much I was writing. But nah, you get a double length chapter this time instead. It's not even that much content really. Just scenes drawing out longer than planned.  
> Don't expect this to happen too often. I was just possessed this time or something. \o/

He floated.

 

Coasted.

 

…something’d.

 

Something a bit rocky and dragging, which should be alarming if his brain wasn’t feeling so slow. Or like it really was floating through water, sloshing back and forth in his skull.

 

Until he felt something sharp poke his neck, causing his eyes to squeeze tighter shut. He thought he heard a small groan; felt a rough palm on his forehead...and it took a few seconds for him to realize that he was the one who had made that sound; that he’d tried to move his head and a hand had reached out to still him. But as the seconds passed, it was becoming easier to think, as a pressure he hadn’t fully acknowledged yet began to ease from his head. The tight band around his chest began to loosen as well.

 

...or maybe that was just from his armor being removed.

 

Which should alarm him.

 

But the careful manner in which it was being unstrapped and lifted away made him feel at ease. He wasn’t sure why. There just...wasn’t any air of danger he could sense. Or maybe that was just his dulled senses. That odd feeling of floating hadn’t left. It had only evened out. And he found he didn’t care.

 

Until he drew a sharp breath at a sudden pain in his side, a whimper breaking free.

 

Immediately, that hand went to his forehead again to still his movement, even as the other hand that had been prodding gently retreated. He felt his bangs brushed away from his forehead, and it was with that that he became aware of the light sheen of sweat that had broken out across his skin.

 

Liam forced his breathing to even out as he cracked his eyes open blearily.

 

And there was the concerned face of MacCready hovering over him, that hand still stroking his hair gently. He shut his eyes as another whimper escaped, pain still throbbing at his side. The sniper softly shushed him, voice pitched soothingly low.

 

“You have a piece of metal in your side, just under your ribs,” MacCready gently explained, and that made sense, Liam thought, considering the stabbing pain he felt there every time he breathed too deeply. “Probably from being so close to that missile when it hit…” he trailed off, prompting Liam to force open his eyes again to see the sniper’s expression. He was looking away then, as if lost in thought (or was it guilt?) before turning back, not really looking surprised at the eyes watching him tiredly. Those fingers stroked through blonde hair again. “I gave you a half dose of med-x so I could remove it without causing you more pain...but it looks like I’ll need to give you a full dose anyway.” Definitely guilt then. The guy looked like he hated having to do that. Hated that he’d even given half a dose, knowing how much Liam hated taking med-x since it fucked with him.

 

He felt oddly warm at that.

 

All he could do was slowly blink his eyes shut before opening them again, if at least to show his acknowledgement of MacCready’s words.

 

\---

 

Those eyes stared up at him tiredly.

 

He didn’t like seeing the drugged sheen they carried. The sheen that he had caused from giving med-x.

 

...but he hated seeing that pained sheen even more. The fact that they still carried it after half a dose.

 

He’d been hoping it might be enough. Enough to dull the pain so he could get the job done. Remove the shrapnel in Liam’s side, fix him up with a few stimpaks, and they’d be on their way again after a short rest and not need to stay here at this satellite array that still stank of super mutant. But...if he needed to give Liam a _full_ dose, there would be no way they were travelling any more today. They’d need to spend the whole night here just so the blonde could recover from how dazed the drug left him after. Hell, the last time he’d given it to him--at Mass Pike, which felt like ages ago--Liam had ended up almost unresponsive. Dipping in and out of awareness to the point he wasn’t even sure the blonde was aware _at all_. He’d almost needed to physically carry him over to his bedroll after that, the drug leaving him incapable of even moving around well on his own. It had almost been like he’d been drunk, but without the ramblings drunkenness tended to have associated with it.

 

He wasn’t a fan of putting Liam through that again.

 

But if he wanted to help without causing further pain, it looked like he needed to anyway.

 

MacCready sighed as he looked at those dulled blue-gray eyes. They didn’t seem to be judging him for his actions either. Hell, he swore Liam looked forgiving. That he understood fully. And that right there probably meant a half dose of med-x wasn’t enough.

 

He sighed again, still not liking what he had to do.

 

Stroking back blonde bangs again (because he could, and he liked doing it, ok? shut up), MacCready brought forth the half-used syringe again, already not liking this as he said, “Let’s get this over with.”

 

\---

 

MacCready wiped the blood from his hands, trying not to think of the cause of it being there.

 

Liam slept peacefully now at least, looking a bit less pale than he had earlier. The sniper silently thanked his late wife for all the medical skills she’d possessed that he’d gotten to witness. A good deal of it personally. Otherwise, this might not have gone as well.

 

Hell, it wasn’t even the shard of metal he’d been as concerned about. It hadn’t actually been that big or too deep really (but definitely needed removing for how close to vital things it had been and possible infection risk).

 

No. He’d been more concerned with the result of the impact Liam had taken. How hard he’d hit the ground after the force of that explosion taking place so closely to him. He’d expected to find broken bones, cracked ribs...at least a concussion. There hadn’t been any broken limbs, which was a surprising but--as he remembered how Liam had mentioned breaking an arm as a kid from falling out of a tree--decidedly good thing.

 

But a head injury? That hadn’t been something he could check as quickly. And it made moving him from out in the open to one of the (luckily) empty trailers on the property that much more strenuous. He knew very well that you shouldn’t move an injured person unless you had no choice, especially one with a possible concussion. One wrong movement and you could make it ten times worse. If you _had_ to move them, you needed to keep their head as still as possible. Which meant half-carrying, half-dragging Liam across the ground, keeping his upper body and head propped up against the sniper’s chest as he’d breathed as slowly as possible to not jostle the blonde around.

 

It had been an arduous task, moving that slowly...which would’ve been significantly more difficult if Liam weighed more than he did. He definitely weighed more than the sniper, but he already knew a lot of that bulk came from the armor that he wore.

 

Hadn’t made half-dragging him across the rocky ground any more pleasant, though.

 

But at least that was done, so all that was left now was to set up a perimeter and keep guard while Liam slept.

 

No problem.

 

MacCready sighed.

 

But looking over at Liam, conked out from med-x and exhaustion, sleep taking over where the stimpaks left off, he felt an easy smile come to his face.

 

_The things love made you do…_

 

His heart jolted.

 

Where had that come from?

 

Love? He knew he liked Liam, but…

 

…

 

_...maybe?_

 

_…_

 

_Yea._

 

_Maybe…_

 

Glancing at Liam again with a new light, he reached for his pack, seeking out mines to set up a perimeter around their makeshift camp. Just to be safe. More mutants could show up after all. He planned to keep watch anyway.

 

Besides, with how preoccupied his thoughts were, it wasn’t like he was going to get any sleep.

 

_Yea…_

 

_I guess I do…_

 

\---

 

Liam inhaled deeply, releasing the breath in a big exhale as his eyes creaked open lazily.

 

And froze at the appearance of an unfamiliar ceiling.

 

_What the hell…_

 

Blinking, he turned his head, not sure what to expect.

 

But definitely not what appeared to be the metal walls and sparse interior of an old camper trailer. Less unexpected--but still a little surprising--was the sight of one sniper, leaned against the wall just a few feet away, rifle propped against his shoulder and hat hanging low over his bowed head. Staring as he was at what little he could see of that half-covered face, it took Liam a moment to realize MacCready’s chest was rising and falling in a slow rhythm, causing the rifle to shift slightly with it.

 

Definitely asleep then.

 

Blinking again and feeling a smile come upon his face at the sight, Liam sat up slowly, wincing a little at a lingering ache in his head and chest. Mostly at his side. He rubbed at the area with the heel of his palm, noting how it was slightly tender, but otherwise ok. The dried bloodstain--and hole--in his shirt hinted at the cause of the tenderness.

 

_“You have a piece of metal in your side…”_

 

Ah, that was right. Blonde brows rose in realization as he remembered. His mishap with “rocket man” and the missile launcher. The misstep in his crazy “dance”, and the rather...explosive dip that had concluded it.

 

He wasn’t sure why he was thinking in dance metaphors. It’d been a game of “chicken”, plain and simple. Getting the mutant to run out of missiles if they had any hope of taking him out. Which...he hoped them being here now meant they had. Unless MacCready had dragged him away from the array somehow without getting hurt himself.

 

He flicked his eyes to the sleeping form, doing a quick once over to check for any sign of injury. There didn’t seem to be anything he could find from this angle, so...maybe he had succeeded? Kept the missiles from seeking the sniper out? He’d need to ask what happened once MacCready woke up.

 

Turning back to the would-be wound, Liam lifted his shirt up carefully, wondering at what he would see.

 

Aside from a little pinkness in the area, there was hardly a mark to be found. Huh.

 

Come to think of it--he glanced towards his shoulder--the last injury MacCready had tended to hadn’t really left a mark either. He could put it down to a quick use of stimpaks, but...that wasn’t always the case. Even using a stimpak could leave a scar, especially if a wound didn’t have the chance to be cleaned properly, or was just that serious.

 

Liam rubbed at his brow subconsciously.

 

No, this showed real skill. He was highly tempted to ask about it later. Hell, if he recalled correctly, he’d asked about it sometime ago, but the sniper had frozen up and refused to answer, instead deflecting to the use of stimpaks. But maybe he could find out this time. If it wasn’t too sore of a subject to bring up that is.

 

For now, he was more interested in finding out where they were (and maybe grabbing breakfast, but that could depend on how the first thing went). And...maybe relieving his complaining bladder if all seemed well out there.

 

Carefully stepping past the sleeping sniper, Liam slowly slid open the trailer door, wincing as his eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight hitting his face.

 

And blinked at what he found.

 

At least a dozen mines littered the ground, strategically placed to defend the area around their chosen place to camp. He felt that swell of pride again at realizing MacCready must have placed these last night.

 

The other thing he noticed was they were still at Revere Satellite Array, so that answered one of his questions. At least part way. He wasn’t sure if it was completely cleared yet. But since there was no shrapnel from a detonated mine, or even a scorched spot indicating an explosion (aside from missiles anyway…), he could assume no super mutants had found them. Or...that _anyone_ had found them really. Unless they were keeping their distance.

 

He scanned the area with VATS, just to be sure.

 

Nothing pinged up.

 

Satisfied for now, Liam left it at that. Besides, his bladder was getting pissed (pun not intended) and he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

 

\---

 

“So…” MacCready looked up from his task of collecting the mines he’d put down when Liam spoke. “I’m assuming ‘rocket man’ burned out his fuse?”

 

He blinked at the blonde, crouched several feet away, collecting mines himself to make the job go faster. It took a few seconds for him to realize what Liam was talking about. “Ah. Yea. He actually threw down the missile launcher and started running down the scaffolding with a super sledge of all things. Shouting _‘You die now!’_ or something. As if the stupid oaf stood a chance at that point… Only took one bullet.” He let a bit of pride color his voice.

 

...and mask the panic and worry he remembered feeling at that time.

 

_Seeing Liam on the ground, thrown from that projectile exploding so close, shrapnel flying dangerously close to hitting something vital, bouncing across the ground and coming to a stop, so dangerously still…_

 

He shook the thought away as his breathing threatened to stutter.

 

He’d already come close to freaking out once today, when he’d woken up to find Liam gone. It hadn’t lasted long, luckily, as the blonde had re-entered the trailer a minute later.

 

_That might haunt me for awhile._

 

As if sensing the turn of MacCready’s thoughts and wanting to pull him from them, Liam spoke again. “Because you’re the best shot in the Commonwealth, like I said.”

 

Instead of going along with the words--though they did still cause a blush--the sniper replied with, “What were you even thinking?” Disabling the last mine he could find, he got back to his feet, turning towards the blonde. “What were you doing, running at a guy with missiles? If he hadn’t run out, you could be dead!” Was he starting to get hysterical? ...did he even care?

 

Liam paused at that, staying silent for longer than MacCready would have liked. Unless that meant he felt guilty, in which case, _good, because he freaking should_. Disabling the last mine he was crouched over, too, he glanced towards the sniper, then got to his feet. “That’s...what I was trying to do actually.”

 

_...what?_ Surely he hadn’t heard that right. MacCready just stared in disbelief, brows drawing in even as his eyes stayed wide. “Get yourself killed?”

 

“What? No! That’s…” Liam sighed, more in frustration than resignation. “I was...playing ‘chicken’, ok? Or something like that.” When MacCready continued to stare like he’d grown another head, the blonde explained further. “I knew he had to run out of missiles sometime. They’re not exactly common, so if I kept moving around, dodging every shot he took, then…” he trailed off with a shrug.

 

MacCready continued to stare. “And you couldn’t find a safer way to do that?” Disbelief colored his voice. He just...couldn’t wrap his head around it.

 

“...it kept you from getting hit by them, didn’t it?” His voice was so quiet that the sniper wasn’t even sure he’d heard correctly at first. But then the words registered, and...there was that stutter in his breath again, matching the sudden stutter of his heart. Unaware of the state he was putting the sniper in (or completely aware and not acknowledging it to give MacCready some modicum of composure), Liam continued, “Though I could’ve done without the suicider. That added bit of ‘fun’ made things a _tad_ more difficult…”

 

MacCready snorted at that--probably a little more wetly than he wanted to, which Liam luckily also didn’t point out. “How the hell did you even make it through here the first time?”

 

“Honestly?” The blonde’s voice took on a more upbeat vibe, emphasizing his own disbelief. “I’m trying to figure that one out. But it probably helps that last time didn’t require ‘missile launcher chicken’.”

 

“Yea, well…” The sniper sighed deeply. “Just try not to do something that crazy again.” And, because he knew Liam, he added, “Unless it’s absolutely necessary. I don’t think my heart could take it if I lost you...” he trailed off...then froze up, realizing what he’d just said.

 

Did he... _want_ Liam to know that? ( _Yet_ , anyway.) He’d practically spilled his feelings towards the blonde, but they hadn’t really had a chance to discuss anything. Was it too soon for him to say anything like that? Maybe he should’ve kept his mouth shut.

 

Wrapped up as he was in his mental crisis, MacCready didn’t notice that Liam had stepped closer until the blonde was suddenly right there, practically in his face. He wasn’t sure what to make of it or even how to react (was he in trouble?)...when Liam suddenly pulled him forward, arms wrapped around him securely as he was drawn into a hug.

 

He stood there in disbelief, blinking into Liam’s shoulder from where his face was practically buried in it. He felt a kiss press against the side of his head--the gas mask having obviously been lifted out of the way--and that finally did it.

 

The dam burst, a few tears trickling free as he finally gave into the urge to bury his face into the blonde’s shoulder, clinging to the back of his shirt as if it was the only thing keeping him grounded.

 

Liam said nothing. Just held onto him tighter as they stood there in the shadow of giant satellites.

 

\---

 

“Never could wrap my head around all this science stuff…”

 

Liam turned to glance back over his shoulder at MacCready. “Yea, it’s not really my thing either. I mean, I can hack computers--obviously--but I learned that more from trial and error. Although…” he turned his attention forward again, needing to keep an eye as he stepped out onto one of the wooden platforms that patched the walkways here. “...you ever thought of a job in the medical career? You seem to be pretty good at it.”

 

That earned him a snort. “Yea, maybe ‘cause a certain someone keeps needing me to patch him up.” There was a slight warble to the sniper’s voice, just barely held back. Immediately, Liam felt guilty, but MacCready seemed to get himself back under control quickly enough as he continued, “Seriously, though, what I know is mostly common sense. Probably helps that I have a steady hand from being a sniper.” And there was a hint of pride. Liam liked hearing that in his voice.

 

He hummed in agreement. “Still, though. It’s obvious you have some skill. You had to have picked it up somewhere.”

 

“Yea…” But that was all MacCready said on the subject.

 

Liam frowned. Apparently MacCready wasn’t going to elaborate, just as he hadn’t explained himself last time either. Admittedly, he was a little disappointed...but that was alright. He wouldn’t press. If the sniper felt like talking about it, he’d do so on his own terms. Not that the unsatisfied curiosity wouldn’t be gnawing away for awhile, but it wasn’t as if he _needed_ to kno--

 

“No one actually taught me, if that’s what you’re wondering…”

 

...apparently MacCready decided he was going to explain anyway. Liam’s curiosity turned its full attention on the sniper, even as he outwardly tried to appear nonchalant about it, merely glancing over in mild interest.

 

Looking up from his feet and seeing he had the blonde’s attention, the sniper dropped his gaze again, perhaps to block his face from view, if only a little.

 

“Lucy was a doctor…”

 

_Ah._ Liam’s eyebrows rose. That explained it. It was also enough for him to know, and he was about to tell MacCready that it was ok; he didn’t need to say more. He could tell it was hard enough for him to get just those words out.

 

But it seemed that once it started, the words kept coming of their own volition.

 

“Back in Little Lamplight...she took care of everyone. All the other kids. Up until she turned sixteen and had to leave…

 

“Then she kept taking care of others, using all the skills she’d picked up from books we had in the caves and developed over the years.” His voice slowly grew quieter as he continued. “Right up until the day...she died...she was patching people up wherever she could. Whoever needed it, if she could help them...well...she did.” His voice got even quieter still. “Just like she always helped me.” Again he paused, and Liam wondered if it really was too much for him to explain...but a few seconds later, MacCready continued.

 

“I did enough stupid crap as a merc, running with the Gunners, doing jobs in general...but she never questioned me when I came home all beaten up, looking like shi-- _ah_ , like hell.

 

“I think maybe she knew what I was doing when I was gone. But...still, she never asked. Just patched up my wounds so I wouldn’t bleed out like an idiot.

 

“But...yea. She didn’t actually _teach_ me how to treat wounds...but you can’t help picking things up when someone that skilled manages to keep you from dying that often.”

 

Liam snorted at the attempted humor, even if it was a little forced. There was a definite underlying warmth to the words though. He could practically feel the love MacCready still held for his late wife radiating from them. “Sounds like she was a great woman.”

 

That got a smile to form on the sniper’s lips. A good look for him. “Yea. She was.”

 

Liam smiled back, even if it went unseen. “Maybe a good teacher, too. Sometimes just watching someone that skilled is the best way to learn from them. And, well…” He turned to look ahead again, following the steps as they went further up. “Not saying you need to follow through with the skills you picked up from her. But it’s just something to think about if you ever get tired of all this mercenary business.” He eyed the series of platforms and scaffolding they came across next, all hanging from some sort of industrial metal wire, and leading up towards the satellite “rocket man” had originally been perched upon. It looked a bit...rickety. But if it could withstand a big super mutant, surely it would hold up to a lowly human. About to step forward, Liam paused, remembering something as he turned towards the sniper. “I’m pretty confident this will hold my weight just fine...but if you don’t feel comfortable following, you could keep watch if you prefer.”

 

MacCready looked ready to protest, likely not a fan of being left behind, especially after Liam’s latest stunt that had almost gotten him killed from playing “heroics”...but one look at the setup that awaited, and Liam could see the wheels turning as he reevaluated his life. Yea, he didn’t seem too keen on following. Although…

 

“This isn’t going to be another ‘fell out of a tree’, is it?” He didn’t sound too keen on Liam going up there either.

 

Liam huffed. “Mac. I was a kid. I’ve had a lot more experience climbing since then.” Of course, he wasn’t going to mention how he’d sprained his ankle dropping off of a building while taking a more circuitous route to Goodneighbor the first time.

 

It wasn’t his fault he’d come face to face with Gunners on that rooftop. Also not his fault that the roof had ended _right there_.

 

To drive the point further home--and keep the subject off of buildings in general--he reached for one of the cables, tapping at it loudly with his knuckles in a loud _twang twang_. It barely budged. “See? Solid. And it held up these morons.” He looked at one of the unmoving mounds of green. “I’m pretty sure I don’t weigh as much as them. Unless brains add a lot of weight,” he added with a smirk.

 

The sniper snorted half-heartedly at the joke at best, still looking doubtful about how safe this was.

 

Since there was no way to further convince him of how _not dangerous_ this was, Liam settled for, “Besides, I already know you’ve got my back if something goes wrong.”

 

MacCready’s eyes shifted to the side as he muttered, “Somehow, that doesn’t fill me with confidence.” But then he sighed, “Fine. We both know you’re just gonna go up there anyway. But...be careful, ok?” The unspoken _I don’t want anything bad to happen to you_ reflected loud and clear in his eyes.

 

Liam just smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

 

He was a lot more nervous about climbing the rickety thing than he let on. For starters, even though the cables were high grade, the same couldn’t be said for the wooden platforms. Some of those boards had looked dubious, so he’d done his best to avoid stepping on those, or, if he had to, barely put any weight on them and for the least amount of time possible.

 

It was also pretty damn high. Even if MacCready had his back--and legs, and ribs, and spine, and skull, and _everything else that could smash into pieces_ \--that didn’t mean he was a fan of falling that far down.

 

So it was with a great deal of relief that he finally reached the top, stepping more than a little shakily onto the (hopefully) more stable metal of the satellite dish.

 

Catching his breath, and coming _this close_ to kissing the metal under his feet (only stopping because he knew what had stepped on it), he dared a glance over the edge.

 

_Whoa, damn…_ Now that was quite a drop. He wasn’t afraid of heights, but he definitely didn’t want to fall from here.

 

Stepping from the edge, Liam turned to see if the climb had been worth--

 

**_Hello._ **

 

_That_ was a power armor frame.

 

...and a fatman. And that was definitely a mini nuke loaded into the launcher, which he was _not_ going to tell MacCready about for obvious reasons. Bad enough that “rocket man” had been up here. It was enough for only one of them to realize how lucky they had truly been. If that mutant hadn’t decided to switch to only a super sledge, then...

 

Not wanting to think about it, he turned his attention back to the frame.

 

Aside from looking a little weather roughened and scraped in places--he got the feeling the super mutants had ripped off whatever armor pieces there had been to aid in making their own crude armor--it was actually in pretty good shape. And still had a fusion core.

 

Suddenly, the workmanship of the platforms that led up here made more sense. Maybe even the old sniper’s nest he’d found that Brotherhood soldier in.

 

This satellite array might have very well been made into a temporary base of operations during the Great War. There was a definite height advantage to these dishes, and if they still worked, then it might’ve been a good communication source. Hell, maybe one of the few still-operating communication sources there had been. And the National Guard Training Yard was only a short distance away...

 

But right now, that didn’t matter. What _did_ matter was coming up here had proved somewhat worth it, he didn’t want to go anywhere near those rickety platforms again, and he might have just found an alternative way back down.

 

\---

 

MacCready held his breath as Liam walked along those shaky platforms.

 

Sure, he had pointed out how strong the cables were, and they did seem pretty tough...but the sniper wasn’t blind. He could see the wood of the platforms wasn’t as strong. And as good as Liam was at controlling himself in a conversation to be more convincing, he couldn’t quite hide how gingerly (and quickly) he moved to reach the satellite.

 

His breath left him in a rush of relief as soon as the blonde stepped onto that big dish. He’d have to step back off of it when he was done searching up there, but MacCready chose to ignore that fact for now and focus on the fact that Liam was no longer standing on questionable construction.

 

Although...he was taking longer than he thought he would. Was something wrong? Or maybe he’d just found a terminal that was proving difficult to hack. He did say it was trial and error, after all. MacCready called it a waste of time, but Liam was too stubborn to let a difficult hack stop him. His curiosity was too strong. It was both his strength and weakness.

 

...seriously, though. This was getting worrying now. What was he do--

 

“Geronimo!”

 

_What--_

 

The sniper jumped back as a large shape plummeted from the satellite, flying past in a blur of metal and...blonde?

 

_What the hell--_

 

**_BAAAMMMMMMMM_ **

 

He gripped one of the railings for dear life as the ground shook, heart rocketing in his chest as he stared at the cloud of dust billowing from the ground.

 

And stared even more when it finally cleared.

 

There stood (crouched?) Liam, in a suit of power armor, ground slightly dented from where he had landed.

 

Picking up his jaw from where he’d dropped it, the sniper raced down the series of scaffolding and platforms--being careful of the shoddily repaired sections--to reach the crazy blonde below.

 

Liam was already standing up when he got there, looking up at the satellite above. “Damn…that was awesome...”

 

“What the hell were you--...” MacCready suppressed a frustrated sound. “Do you know how reckless that was?”

 

“Hm?” The blonde lowered his head back down to look at him. Despite the gas mask (which he was secretly hoping Liam might ditch one day) he got the feeling he was being blinked at. Then the mask dipped down as Liam ducked his head somewhat sheepishly. Shrugging, he replied (sounding decidedly _not_ sheepish; in fact, he might’ve been _grinning_ ), “I’ve just...always wanted to do that…”

 

The sniper stared.

 

Stared some more.

 

Liam tilted his head at him (probably still grinning or smirking or something, the _brat_ ).

 

_...he’s going to be the death of me one day, damn it._ MacCready sighed in resignation, frowning in disapproval (for all the good it would do).

 

Liam just snickered, flicking his head to gesture to the side. “Come on. Let’s find a place to stash this thing and get out of here.”


	62. Dropping Bombs

As luck would have it, it didn’t take long to find a good place to stash the power armor frame.

 

Not far from the satellite array, there had been a small boathouse at the edge of a nearby pond that happened to have a power armor dock within. The perfect place, especially since the lock still worked.

 

Shutting the doors and hearing said lock click back into place, Liam turned towards the next landmark along their route.

 

Revere Beach Station.

 

Before the war, it had been your classic boardwalk overlooking its own beach. Complete with souvenir shops, restaurants, and even a big arcade, it was a nice spot for a daytrip.

 

He and Nora had spent a pleasant afternoon there once, just walking along, eating ice cream and taking in the view of the beach as the sun set. They’d wanted to go back one day, when Shaun got older. But...well…

 

The blonde shook his head, not wanting to get lost in thoughts.

 

Especially not since he could see a spotlight shining between buildings like a beacon of trouble. The boardwalk was serving a new purpose now, under new occupants. And just what kind, the two of them were about to find out.

 

...nevermind the fact they could easily go around and ignore it.

 

_ I’m the General of the Minutemen. It’s our job to help take back the Commonwealth. And what better way to do it than to play “exterminator” to possible scum? _

 

That was his argument and he was sticking with it. Besides, it was  _ right there _ . Hardly a detour. And after sitting there for two centuries, the holotape they were after could stand to wait an extra hour.

 

Stalking across the struggling grass, he heard the reluctant footsteps of MacCready following after him, likely questioning why they were heading this way but going along with it anyway (Liam wanted to argue that it was really the sniper who had the “patience of a saint” and not himself).

 

Stopping short of being seen to duck behind a decrepit building, the blonde pulled his sniper rifle, using the scope to get a better look through the gap between the buildings ahead.

 

That was definitely a “death spike”--the impaled bodies in varying states of decay gave it away immediately. And that answered the question of who had claimed this territory.

 

Liam lowered his rifle just as MacCready muttered lowly, “Raiders.”

 

He definitely couldn’t leave this alone now. Of course, they stood no chance if this wasn’t done cautiously. Charging straight in through that alleyway might give the element of surprise, but only for a few seconds. And those spotlights would alert the enemy of their presence, even in the middle of the day (he’d helped Sturges rig up enough to know how they worked). It was highly tempting to try taking them out. And then maybe…

 

_ Yea, that could work… _

 

The beginnings of a plan forming in his head, he turned towards MacCready, hoping the optimism translated well enough past his mask. “I’ve got an idea.” The sniper looked unsure, and he didn’t blame the guy, but Liam hardly let that stop him. “We’re going to put our best skills to work.”

 

\---

 

This was crazy.

 

Insane. Impossible. Dangerous. Not going to work.

 

Not to mention they were rushing in mostly blind.

 

All these thoughts and more ran through MacCready’s head as he waited in the shadows of a mostly intact building, the upper floor proving stable enough to use as a sniper’s nest (without the worry of it giving out under his feet). His heart was threatening to leap into his throat as he waited for Liam to execute his plan. It took all his experience as a sniper to sit patiently, avoiding fidgeting or moving from his position lest he miss his chance to strike.

 

The plan in question was (mostly) simple.

 

Liam was going to sneak up to the edge of the alley and take out the spotlight with his silenced pistol. Then, when the raiders, likely drugged up or too stupid to think properly, rushed over to check it and figure out what caused it, MacCready was supposed to take the opportunity to headshot or incapacitate as many of them as he could while Liam was going to sneak around to the other alley nearby and try to get around behind them. With their attention divided, they would be less tactical, not sure where to go or where to focus their attention, and thus be much easier to hit.

 

Hopefully, anyway.

 

Mostly, they were banking on the fact that Liam was a sneaky bastard and that MacCready was a good shot.

 

So of course that meant it would all go to hell.

 

The spotlight fell and the raiders came rushing, all right. And MacCready managed to take a few out before they knew what hit them.

 

But that was when a new spotlight came into view.

 

The headlamp of a suit of power armor.

 

And neither of them had been anticipating that.

 

\---

 

Liam leapt back into the shadows of the building rubble once the spotlight started to fall, the rush of feet coming with it.

 

“What the--”

 

And saw the first raider go down in a spray of red right between the eyes.

 

He grinned.  _ Still the best shot. _

 

He was preparing to make the dash to the other opening between buildings as another went down--

 

_ Clang clang clang CLANG CLANG-- _

 

And froze as his eyes went wide.

 

_ “Who’s out there?!” _

 

_ Shit. _ The raiders  _ would _ have power armor, wouldn’t they. This complicated things a bit. As good a shot as MacCready was, he wasn’t sure one of his rounds would penetrate power armor that easily. Even shoddily put together raider crap. Not unless they could get to the guy’s back and take out the core.

 

_ “Oh I know you’re here! I’ll find ya!” _

 

Liam ducked further back into the shadows.  _ You do not see the ninja… _

 

But the truth was, with the way that headlight was swinging back and forth, he was bound to be noticed sooner or later, especially if he tried to dart away. And it seemed the bullets MacCready was managing to land weren’t phasing the guy for long.

 

_ Plan B then. _

 

He reached for his pack.

 

And pulled out a grenade.

 

If it was gonna go to hell, he was going to make it more interesting.

 

\---

 

_ Damn it. _

 

MacCready fired at the crude helmet, bullet after bullet merely bouncing off the metal. It might’ve been cracking the casing, but if the raider in question cared, he showed no sign of it. Other than to aim an automatic rifle in the vague direction of the sniper’s shots.

 

_ \--! _

 

He had no choice but to duck out of view, hunkering behind his questionable cover as a few shots pinged off the old brick, too close for comfort.

 

Damn it, he should’ve expected this. Or something like this. Of course the plan was going to backfire. It hadn’t even been a well-thought plan to begin with. They’d gone in mostly blind, and now they were paying for it. And so soon after the shi--agh, crap show the satellite array had been. He supposed he should consider it lucky there were no missiles yet...but the day was still young.

 

**_BOOM--_ **

 

_ What-- _

 

MacCready flinched, holding back the urge to peek out of hiding and find out what had happened. Something had blown up.

 

...and the suppressing fire had stopped. It...really was tempting to take a look. Except it might be a trap--

 

**_BOOM!!_ **

 

_ Ok, seriously, what the hell is-- _

 

Unable to take it anymore, he looked.

 

And watched as a suit of power armor flew a good ten feet through the air to land with a metallic crunch.

 

_ What the heck-- _

 

Immediately, his eyes flew to the scene at the alley, hearing the enraged and panicked shouts of drugged out raiders scrambling to regroup.

 

But where was Liam?

 

Trying not to panic--he was sure the blonde was fine; he was resourceful and a sneaky bastard, after all;  _ Stop thinking of the satellite array... _ \--MacCready scanned over the rubble, taking in the thrown bodies via his sniper scope, looking for any sign of blonde hiding among them, trying to keep out of sight. He was beginning to lose the battle to panic when-- _ there _ .

 

Liam darted into view.

 

Unfortunately, that meant the raiders had seen him, too.

 

MacCready grit his teeth with a scowl, nearly grinding them to worse than they already were, as he lowered his rifle again. He couldn’t just sit here like this. Not when Liam was right in the thick of it. Yes, he was a sniper, and yes, his aim was his strength. But right now, he couldn’t concentrate for shit.

 

Right now, he needed to move. If only to get to a better vantage point where his cover hadn’t been blown.

 

So he did.

 

\---

 

That...had gone differently than expected.

 

He’d meant to cause a distraction with that grenade; bonus if it caused some damage as well.

 

But he hadn’t expected it to take out the power armor dude and make him go  _ flying through the air _ .

 

Liam had taken a moment to stare at the result of his handiwork. But not for long, as he found himself needing to duck out of sight again when the bullets flew in his direction.

 

Shit, they definitely knew he was here now. No denying that after the loud introduction he’d made. And it was quite the greeting they were giving him.

 

Firing off a few responses of his own, the blonde darted from his place in the (arguably meager) shadows, skidding behind the sparse cover of a car that sat rusting in the street. Not the best place, but beggars couldn’t be choosers right now. It was all he could do to pop up, send off a few more rounds that may or may not have hit in all the chaos, and drop back down to collect himself and reload.

 

Damn it. This was definitely not the plan.

 

_ Screw the plan. _ The plan was dead. And if he wasn’t careful, he might be, too.

 

_ Not if I can help it… _

 

But the better idea right now might be to retreat. He hated the idea of giving up; hated leaving the boardwalk to the raiders even more (not just for sentimental reasons). He was General of the Minutemen, damn it, and these raiders were part of the problem they were trying to fix.

 

Granted, he had shot first...but to be fair, they had a death spike.

 

Need he say--or rather, think--more?

 

Nope. Definitely not.

 

_ Grrrrr! _

 

Apparently something disagreed.

 

Liam whipped his head around, rifle swinging with him, to see a set of jaws closing in, slobber gleaming off canine fangs that were too close for him to possibly line up a proper shot before they--

 

_ Bang! _

 

The jaws jerked away with a spray of blood and a faint  _ yelp! _ as the mangy guard dog tumbled into a heap by his feet.

 

He almost felt bad for it...if not for the fact it would’ve ripped his face off.

 

But where had…?

 

Whirling around (still remaining low behind the car, of course), Liam scanned the street for the location of his savior, whom he was quite certain of the identity of, but wanted to make sure of their wellbeing.

 

Except he couldn’t spot anyone. Definitely no one up in the building where he’d left a certain sniper either.

 

So MacCready had to have moved from there. He just hoped it wasn’t for a bad reason…and had those pock marks in the brick always been there?

 

Tamping down his rising concern, Liam turned to face the more pressing matter ahead. Namely, the scattered raiders who were starting to grow more bold as their assailant’s attack seemed to have paused. Unless they thought he’d run off.

 

So of course, Liam sent them another gift, which happened to be more frag grenades.  _ The gift that keeps on giving. _

 

By their shouts, it seemed they appreciated the sentiment.

 

And if they didn’t, they probably appreciated the shots of a sniper rifle he could hear coming from somewhere behind him.

 

Feeling more confident, Liam smirked behind his mask, checking his rifle again, and diving once again into the fray.

 

Quite literally, as he vaulted over the hood of the car. Points for drama.

 

But not really.

 

...unless MacCready had noticed.

 

…

 

He might’ve felt like showing off.

 

Shut up.

 

\---

 

He watched Liam toe a bit of...was that an arm?...out of his way.

 

The battle hadn’t exactly been the sneaky showdown either of them had expected. Rather, it had turned into the complete opposite: loud and boisterous and destructive.

 

But equally effective.

 

It turned out, MacCready hadn’t needed to worry like he had. By the time he’d gotten closer (after taking out the rabid mongrel that had gotten dangerously close to chomping on Liam’s arm), there had hardly been any raiders left. Between the sneaky shots Liam had managed to send off before he’d been discovered, and the sniper’s distant headshots, there hadn’t been  _ too _ much of a challenge left once the guy in power armor was no longer a factor. The grenades had seen to that, and then some.

 

Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. He felt no remorse for abandoning his position and rushing forward like that. It had gained him a better vantage point to take on the foes he hadn’t been able to get a bead on, and he’d been able to see that Liam was faring ok. He planned to stick to his guns in guarding his back after all, and it had been a relief to rejoin him. With everything the Commonwealth could throw at them (and had), he feared another Satellite Array. Or Museum. Or--shudder--Dunwich. Hell, even Mass Pike, which had been his idea. If he thought about it, maybe that had been the start of a trend and he had invited in a wealth of opportunities for the ‘wealth to make attempts on their lives…

 

But that was just silly. From what Liam had said, the wasteland had been trying to kill him since Day One. It just meant they needed to hit back even harder. That power armor he’d wanted and still needed to work on came to mind… Maybe now would be a good chance to convince Liam they should take a break for awhile--if not now, then soon.

 

Maybe even...have that talk he’d been meaning to start. They were better friends than ever now. They hadn’t even known each other that long, and there were still secrets he was sure. But there was no one--aside from the few back home--that he trusted more right now. No one else he could call his best friend. And not just best friend, but...what exactly were they now? They were already several acts in, but this play had yet to reach any sign of its climax.

 

It was only when the blonde turned to look at him did MacCready realize he’d been staring. Into space. Directly at the guy’s back.

 

MacCready tamped down a blush, hopefully before it would be noticed (though, knowing Liam, he would’ve noticed anyway).

 

He watched as Liam paused, and he swore he felt eyes boring into him.

 

Crap. He’d definitely noticed. And it was too late to pretend he hadn’t been looking, even if it hadn’t been on purpose, or at  _ him _ exactly. It was more that indirect “lost in thought” kind of staring. But he wasn’t sure Liam had realized that--

 

\--and now he was walking over, head tilting at the sniper curiously.

 

Crap crap crap. Was he going to ask if something was wrong? What was on his mind maybe? Heck, MacCready wasn’t even sure how he’d answer that. And Liam was getting closer now, reaching a hand forward--

 

And plucked something off of his shoulder.

 

“You got a little something on your…” Then he shook away whatever it was with a mildly horrified disgusted sound. “Oh god, I think that was an ear.”

 

MacCready couldn’t help it.

 

He snorted.

 

Started to snicker.

 

And Liam just stared. Probably was blinking at him like he’d grown an extra head, too.

 

The mental image just sent him into full blown laughter.

 

“Okaaay…” Liam stretched the word out, belying the bewildered expression he must be wearing as he continued to speak at a slower speed. “I’m glad random raider bits amuse you so much…?”

 

MacCready just waved a hand at him, trying and failing to suppress the grin on his face as his laughter subsided into chuckles. And a couple of snorts. It took him a few more seconds to be able to regain control of his breathing--not helped by the way Liam huffed at him with all his annoyance that had to be exaggerated.

 

“Maybe I should use grenades more often if it’s going to make you break down like this every time.” That sarcastic quip nearly set him off again. But no. MacCready fought it off, finally gaining control of himself again.

 

He wiped a stray tear off his cheek as the grin faded to a smirk. “Sorry. It’s just…” An errant giggle interrupted his words. “It’s been a crazy day. Crazy  _ few _ days even. I think it’s starting to get to me is all.” He could argue his whole time travelling with Liam was getting to him, but he didn’t want that to come across the wrong way.

 

He watched Liam’s shoulders rise and fall as he sighed out, “Yea… Yea, it has been kind of crazy, hasn’t it.” That sounded like a rhetorical question, and more like a statement, so MacCready chose not to answer. Liam nodded as he continued. “Yea, maybe we could use a break. We were in Sanctuary, what...maybe a week ago?” He started thinking out loud, half to himself as he looked to the sky as if to tell the time from the clouds. Who knew. “And Goodneighbor...half as long ago? Maybe more? Hm.” He faced the sniper again. “Yea, tell you what. How about after we get this holotape, we take a break? There’s still a few more to find, but if they’re all this tough to get to, we’re likely to burn out long before we reach the end of this. Especially with…” He gestured to the general vicinity of boardwalk turned war zone, still littered with the bodies (and body  _ parts _ ) of dead raiders. “...things like this along the way.”

 

Speaking of. “You still haven’t told me what the tapes were for.”

 

“Ah. That--” Liam cut himself off. “Well, we’re…” he hummed to himself, sounding deep in thought.

 

MacCready almost thought he wasn’t going to find out again. He’d only gotten part of it before--that it was a favor for Nick; about him looking into this old case for some reason--and he wanted to know the full story, damn it. Things had definitely gotten more than dangerous enough to justify him knowing. Or did Liam not fully trust him yet despite all they’d been throu--

 

“We’re putting an end to a case.”

 

…

 

That hadn’t been what he’d expected.

 

MacCready blinked. “What?” Surely he hadn’t heard right. If this was about the Eddie Winter case, the  _ extremely _ cold case in that it was from over 200  _ years _ ago, then… “What do you mean, ‘putting an end to a case’? There isn’t any case. It was dropped and Winter walked free, right? After he made that deal? Recorded all those tapes that put a bunch of criminals away?”

 

“Well…yea. But...” Liam slowly turned his head as he looked away, hesitating to begin.

 

But when he finally did, he told MacCready everything.

 

About Nick’s memories. About the old Detective Nick Valentine. The case. The murdered fiancee. The deal. The lack of justice.

 

Everything.

 

And in the end, MacCready almost wished he hadn’t asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> LEND ME YOUR EARS  
> *rain of ears*  
> ...that's _disgusting_.
> 
> Thank my friend/"beta reader" for that bit. Completely her idea.


	63. Down by the Boardwalk

“ _ Damn _ , I’ve been wanting to come back here, and of course all the games are out of order! Of all the luck, right?”

 

Liam’s attempt to lighten the mood was met with a distracted hum of acknowledgement. Glancing back over his shoulder, he caught MacCready still lingering in the doorway, looking around without actually looking, mostly appearing lost in thought.

 

Though Liam couldn’t really blame him after the bomb of information the blonde had just unloaded.

 

The truth behind the Eddie Winter holotapes. Why Nick wanted them.

 

They were hunting down Winter himself.

 

Not that they didn’t know his location, but more, they were deciphering the key that locked the door to his safehouse. Ten numbers to a code, all hidden within the ten holotapes he’d recorded.

 

All so Nick could have justice. And not for himself exactly.

 

For his memories. For the old Nick. And hopefully, in doing that, he could leave the old Nick behind… Stop living in his shadow…

 

Focus on his own life.

 

And if that wasn’t what was clouding the sniper’s mind, then Liam was at a loss. But that had to be what was distracting him. At least partially. He’d said it’d been a long few days after all, which was true. A lot had happened, and they were both tired. Hopefully they could completely skirt any Brotherhood in the neighborhood around the next police station and be on their way. The last thing he wanted was to talk to any of them.

 

_ Though I might choose them over a bloodthirsty deathclaw. _ And...a few deathclaws weren’t so bloodthirsty, it turned out.  _ Hope that mother deathclaw doesn’t have her nest raided again. _ Considering there was only one egg in it--that might not even hatch after all it’d been through, but who knew?--it would suck if that one was lost again. To get your child back, only to have them taken from you again would just…

 

He shook off the thought right away. No need to go there. He wanted to focus on looting this building for whatever it held of use.

 

Heh. It even had basketball hoops. Those looked like they were in better shape at least, even if they were mostly tilted or hanging downward.  _ I wonder… _

 

_ Aha! _ There were basketballs, too.  _ Awesome. _

 

…

 

Liam looked up from the ball in his grasp, studying the hoop hanging down in front of him. He glanced at the distracted sniper again, then back to the hoop, a crazy idea forming in his mind.  _ That _ was still sitting somewhere in his pack, wasn’t it…

 

\---

 

“Hey, Mac!”

 

MacCready looked up from the medkit he’d found and had been going through with automatic motions as he mulled over the information he’d been given.

 

And paused at the sight of Liam holding up some kind of...contraption? engine? weird... _ thing _ ? that he had pointed towards one of the lopsided basketball hoops on the wall in front of him.

 

He frowned, about to ask what the hell he was doing--

 

_ POP! _

 

\--and jumped back, arms half-raised to cover anything they could as something flew from the freaky thing at the hoop, bouncing off of it with enough force to bend it even further, fly through the air, bounce off  _ another _ rim, off the ceiling, off the wall,  _ another _ wall, and then continue to bounce harmlessly until it stopped at the sniper’s feet.

 

A basketball.

 

Wordlessly, he stared at it, hands still raised in a useless shield.

 

Liam was the first to break the silence that followed. “Ok, I admit, that could’ve gone better…”

 

MacCready moved his disbelieving stare to the blonde. Then pointed at the...whatever the hell was in Liam’s hands. “What the fu-- _ frig _ is that thing?!”

 

Liam looked at it--“What, this?”--lifting it up. “This is the Junk Jet,” he proclaimed proudly. As if that explained everything.

 

The sniper stared more, still unsure. “Uh huh. And where did you get that?”  _ And where were you keeping it?? _ Was it some random loot he’d found that MacCready hadn’t noticed??

 

“At a rocket test launch site.”

 

MacCready sighed, resisting the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Of course you did.” Because that was just a thing people did. Go to rocket test launch sites and find shi--uh, stuff. “Should I even ask why you were there?” Although, oddly enough, it seemed like a Liam thing to do. He’d probably figured there would be some useful junk there to use to put together a turret or who-knew-what for one of the Minutemen’s settlements. Hell, maybe even a rifle mod.

 

Liam’s head tilted a bit in the short silence that followed, giving the sniper the feeling he was contemplating his words carefully. “Well…” And by the hesitant way the blonde began, it seemed he wasn’t wrong. “You remember how I mentioned--”

 

_ “Huh?” _

 

Instantly, they both froze, heads shooting up towards the ceiling where a third voice had come from.

 

_ “What was that?!” _

 

Liam lowered his gaze from the ceiling, MacCready doing the same soon after. He wasn’t sure what kind of face the blonde was making under that mask, but he assumed it was similar to his own. That “we should go deal with that” look. They both nodded, Liam heading for the stairs that would lead up, and for some reason, choosing to still wield that odd...thing. Mini rocket or whatever.

 

...did he just snatch up some abraxo and load it into it??

 

MacCready’s brows drew together in confusion.

 

Ok...he was curious now. And that was never good.

 

Wordlessly, he followed Liam up the stairs as silently as he could manage, wondering what was about to go down.

 

\---

 

So they’d missed one, it seemed.

 

_ How _ they’d missed one of the raiders, though, was just...anyone’s guess really.

 

Had she been asleep? Ignoring the chaos? Too high to notice?

 

Or maybe hadn’t given a damn that her friends had been shot up and blown apart.

 

_ “...getting shook up over nothing…” _

 

Or maybe she was just thick.

 

Liam couldn’t help the sarcastic quips that left his mouth in a mumble. “Yes, nothing. All your friends are just dead from…well, it’s a new allergic reaction. They just kind of...get random bloody holes. Fall over. Maybe even explode suddenly… You might wanna be careful. It’s probably the water.”

 

He thought he heard a muffled snort from somewhere behind him as they neared the top of the stairs.

 

He smirked. At least someone thought he was funny.

 

“What?!”

 

And someone was getting abraxo to the face.

 

_ POP! _

 

\---

 

There was a pile of soap powder gathered on and around the dead raider’s head, some of it even beginning to foam at the corners of her mouth.

 

Almost enough to make a “rabid” joke.

 

MacCready stared down at the victim of the Junk Jet’s wrath, curiosity most definitely satisfied (and somewhat taken aback). Except now he wondered what else it could turn into a deadly projectile. The possibilities seemed endless.

 

Liam stepped closer to admire his handiwork as well.

 

“A clean death.”

 

“...”

 

MacCready slowly turned his head to stare at the blonde with the flattest look he could muster.

 

It took Liam a second to notice the attention he was getting, double-taking a bit before he faced the sniper. Shifting his gaze away for a second, he tilted his head back towards MacCready again. “Oh, come on, that was a good one and you know it.”

 

MacCready made sure to inject just how not impressed he was into his voice. “I’m not sure whether I should applaud you or just groan.”

 

“...you could also say I helped clean up her act.”

 

This time he did groan. “Ok, now you’re just reaching.”

 

Snickering, Liam moved to scope out the room, on the search for useful loot. Same drill as always. He could practically hear MacCready shaking his head at him before he went to do the same, starting at the other side of the room. While the sniper went to do that, he headed for the first thing that caught his eye: a comic (he was still a collector; so sue him). An issue of  _ Live and Love _ he wasn’t as familiar with, but had him snorting at the cover.  _ Talk Yourself Sober _ . As if that would work, even turning on the charm. Stashing it away, and feeling tempted to gloat at MacCready that he’d found a comic book, the steamer trunk in the corner gained his attention next. The contents were less exciting. Just a handful of caps, random armor pieces that weren’t better than his current ones, and an ok firearm that didn’t seem better than any of the rifles they carried.  _ Meh. Sell it. _

 

Also a lot of book return tokens scattered about the room. Come to think of it, there had been a book return terminal downstairs. Could be worth checking out.

 

The trunk shut with a  _ thunk _ .

 

No raider voices cut into what they were doing at least, so it seemed pretty safe to assume the building was now empty. Didn’t mean Liam put his weapon away though. Even if it was puttering away pretty loudly like the engine it was.

 

“That thing is really weird I hope you know.” MacCready’s voice cutting through the otherwise undisturbed silence had him turning from the desk he’d been rummaging through next. Apparently the sniper had finished with his side of the room. He followed his gaze down to the weapon he had braced against his leg.

 

“It’s unique alright,” he agreed. “The inventor sounded pretty ‘unique’ as well. ...there was a holotape with it,” he explained when MacCready’s brows drew together. Warping his voice into some imitation of crazy, he ‘quoted’ the message on the tape. “ _ ‘They all laughed, but I’ll show them. They’ll all see!’  _ ” He cleared his throat, dropping back into his normal voice. “Seriously, the guy was two steps away from doing an evil laugh. Talk about your stereotypical mad scientist…

 

“But anyway, the place I found this thing--Arcjet, it was called--is actually where I went with that one Brotherhood Paladin. Danse.” He watched MacCready’s brow hitch with irritation at the mention of that group. He really needed to ask why he hated them so much. The sniper had mentioned them making things “difficult” back in the Capital Wasteland, but hadn’t elaborated. “We were looking for some tech. Long range transmitter or something. Since their communications had been damaged in an attack and there were too few of his squad left, Danse needed my help so they could contact the rest of the Brotherhood. To let them know they were still alive and could get out of there at the very least, I assume…” From the way the sniper was frowning at him, he was probably wondering the same thing Liam was now: that the timing of his helping and the coincidental arrival of that blimp looming over everything could be correlated...but...

 

“I highly doubt that’s why their airship showed up.”  _ Or I hope, at least… _ “That many men at once? They had to have been planning that for  _ weeks _ . And it wasn’t even that long after I had helped out Danse, so they were definitely coming here anyway. For what,” he shrugged, “I have no clue. Hardly an initiate, remember?” he pointed out.

 

“Yea...probably…” MacCready shifted his gaze away, looking guilty. Liam suspected he really had been wondering if their arrival was Liam’s fault, if only for a second. But he didn’t blame the sniper. Even with the logic he had pointed out, Liam still did wonder--at least a little--if he was to blame for the Brotherhood being here. So soon, anyway.

 

But even if that was the case, there was no going back. Nothing to do but move on and keep doing what they were doing. And he had every intention of getting near that airship (via sneaking, of course) since it was in the same neighborhood as the holotape they sought. Nick was one of his best friends, and no way was he going to back down from doing a favor for him.

 

“Come on.” Liam finally silenced and stashed away the Junk Jet, noting how MacCready stared when it was back in his pack. Probably because it was almost the same size as said pack. He wasn’t going to explain, though. Not unless he was asked. “Let’s see what else we can find in this place.”

 

\---

 

“Huh. That’s...interesting.”

 

Out in the ocean, there were quite a few boats in various stages of battered, stretching across the water in a long line that lead up to an overturned...well, it had to be a cruise ship from how big it was. But MacCready was no expert; books had only told him so much. And he only had one thing to say about the sight.

 

“No.”

 

Liam lowered his rifle from his eye. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”

 

“We’re not going over there.”

 

“I never said I wanted to--”

 

“But you were thinking it.”

 

“...” The blonde looked away almost sheepishly. “Ok, I’ll admit that… But I wasn’t going to suggest it!” he added on a little too quickly.

 

“Shocker.”

 

Liam scoffed at his sarcastic quip. “Oh, come on. I meant it when I said we’ll take a break as soon as we get this holotape. I don’t plan on letting every little thing along the way delay us more.” He brought the scope up again. “...even if...it is tempting.” He lowered the scope more quickly this time, as if fighting the urge. Huffing, he turned to his pip-boy instead. “I’ll just make a note of it for later. Nothing’s stopping us from coming back here another time.”

 

MacCready barely resisted the urge to roll his eyes, finding it even harder to keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.

 

It must have fought through harder than he realized, because when Liam looked up from his map, that gas mask of his stayed pointed his way for a moment. He thought he saw Liam’s ear shifting upward a bit, too.

 

Chuckling lightly, he felt Liam squeeze his hand as he passed by, voice warmed by a definite smile as he said, “Alright, let’s get going.”

 

After they stopped to check out the book return terminal downstairs, of course, because, as Liam pointed out, “it was right there”.

 

\---

 

“This place had some of the best ice cream on the boardwalk...”

 

They were on their way, about to leave the area of Revere, but Liam couldn’t help reminiscing aloud at the rundown shops as they passed them.

 

“The homemade kind. Not that cheap freezer burned crap you found at the store.”

 

“Wouldn’t know. Never had ice cream.”

 

Liam stopped in his tracks, slowly turning to stare at the sniper.

 

MacCready just frowned at him, gesturing to the general area. “In case you haven’t noticed, it’s not exactly a thing people can make anymore.”

 

Liam stared for a moment longer...then sighed, shoulders drooping a bit. “Yea, I know… It’s just...” He turned back, starting forward again. “Still doesn’t feel that long ago, y’know? Some days it still doesn’t feel real. Like it’s some long, ongoing dream I’ll wake up from at any moment.”

 

He just heard a quiet hum from behind him, as if the sniper was unsure of what to say to that. Not that he blamed him. What did you say to a guy whose whole world had been destroyed in the blink of an eye only to be replaced with a broken copy? The silence only lasted a minute before…

 

“What I wanna know is where I can find some saltwater taffy.”

 

Liam nearly stumbled.  _ What?! _ He just barely caught himself before he could fall over. Glancing back, he blinked a few times, facing forward again a second later, still blinking.

 

Nonplussed, MacCready continued, confirming that Liam had indeed heard correctly. “But was it really made with saltwater? I’ve never been a fan of the ocean, but I’ve always wondered that.”

 

Um? “No,” he managed. “No it was not. It was just a name.”

 

“Seriously?” He sounded disappointed.

 

“Yea. Advertising gimmick. Guess it still works, though.” He smirked.

 

He could feel the sniper’s frown. “That’s just dumb.”

 

“Hey, don’t look at me. I didn’t name it.” Still feeling the frown, he added, “I’ll let you know if I find any that’s not overly irradiated, though...” he trailed off at the familiar whirring of blades chopping through the air, turning his head towards the sound as MacCready groaned.

 

“Oh great, what now?”

 

The shadow of a vertibird cast out the sun over the buildings as it zoomed by. Following its trajectory, Liam watched as it continued forward, paying them no mind as it headed for the even bigger shape casting a much bigger shadow across the sky ahead of them.

 

The Brotherhood’s airship.

 

As if they needed the reminder that they were heading towards it.


	64. A robot walks into a bar...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess this is almost filler? Although...what's really filler when there's random stuff along the road you need to check out?

_ “...ghoul..’d make..’ood bounce’...scare..’ff troub’..mak..with..’at scratch’..voice…” _

 

_...huh? _

 

Liam’s brow furrowed as his ears picked up a guy’s voice on the wind. He was about to turn towards MacCready to ask if he’d heard it, too--

 

_ “...’cept may…’s ugly mug..’ight scare..’way pay’...cust..’m’rs…” _

 

...ok. That was odd. He really did turn towards the sniper now, seeing the same befuddled expression on his face as he was looking around. He finally paused, frowning in a direction, before he met Liam’s eye and jerked his chin in that same direction.

 

Turning that way, too, Liam finally saw it, though it was a little hard to make out at first since the sun was starting to go lower in the sky and paint everything orange (apparently winter’s shorter days still existed despite the warmer temperatures). Some twenty or so yards from the end of the boardwalk was a wooden stand, with a guy in a...tattered suit?...standing behind it, facing the road.

 

Was...that a bar? Out  _ here _ ?

 

Liam blinked, looking around in confusion, mildly wondering if this was some kind of prank. Maybe a trap. But of course, if it was either, that didn’t stop his curiosity from being at its peak.

 

Shooting the sniper another glance, he shrugged and started walking over, despite the look of disbelief he’d caught a glimpse of before he’d turned away. However, that didn’t stop the footfalls crunching in the sand behind him not a second later.

 

Still loyal even when he was found crazy. That shouldn’t warm his heart as much as it did.

 

As he got closer, the guy’s muttering became a lot more clear.

 

_ “Wonder if I could get some more customers if I hired some...busty waitress.” Pause. “Nah, people don’t go for that these days.” _

 

_ Now that’s a shocker. _ Though in some ways, it made sense. Complete nuclear annihilation of the world tended to change most people’s worldviews; make them re-evaluate what was important.

 

Or people just couldn’t afford to be picky.

 

Either way, it didn’t matter. Liam was just able to conclude now that the guy was talking to himself. Thinking out loud. Which...could be strange. But he didn’t know. He wasn’t getting any sense of “danger” from him either, so if this  _ was _ a trap, it was a really well hidden one. He glanced back over his shoulder as he rounded the bar in a bit of a wide circle.

 

MacCready was still following. Looking just as weirded out; a little wary...but not giving off any signals of “we should get the hell out of here”.

 

As he finally rounded enough to the front of the counter, he finally confirmed it was indeed a bar. The word written in giant letters on the front and on the sign over the top made it obvious. And if couldn’t read, there was a convenient, crudely drawn image of a beer mug as well.

 

Pausing, he hesitated for a second, shooting one last unsure (and unseen) glance at the sniper again before he cleared his throat. “Um...hello?”

 

Immediately, the guy’s expression brightened up as it landed on him. “Ah! A customer!”

 

Um.

 

“Welcome to Mac’s Bar!”--Liam’s (unseen) gaze shifted to MacCready again for a second--“We are currently open for business. Please excuse the mess,” the guy (Mac?) finished his spiel, sounding like he’d rehearsed it many times.

 

Liam stared, caught speechless for a second before he found his voice, deciding to go with voicing his confusion out loud. “Why start a bar out here?” It might’ve been beachfront property with no one currently clamoring to own it, but...for starters, there was no roof. Or protection from hostiles. Or...customers for that matter. (Unless the raiders he and MacCready had taken out were once customers, in which case, oops?)

 

“Ever since I was little, I wanted to own a bar. A place for people to come and relax and tell me their troubles.”  _ What people?? _ Liam kept his mouth shut, letting ‘Mac’ explain. “Problem is, real estate is real hard to come by in most of the major settlements.” He probably could’ve opted for one of the newly formed Minutemen run settlements, but then, he’d said ‘major’. Liam almost took offense to that. Almost. “So I figured, why not start out here, huh?” The jovial edge to that voice was almost...irritating. Especially since there really were multiple settlements he could’ve gone with that wouldn’t have cost much for property. In fact, he might’ve been able to start out for free! And with protection thrown in just for being in the settlement! “Anyway, what’ll it be?”

 

_ Do you even have any stock, being out here like this? _ Liam bit his tongue on those words, fighting to keep the charm forefront. This guy was just trying to live out his dream on his own terms. Even if how he was going about it was stupid.

 

Should he even mention the Minutemen settlements? Even if Liam was good at convincing people of things, this guy looked set in his way of doing things. Hell, that stand he was using looked like he’d put a lot of time and effort into it, and moving from here meant dismantling it, and there wasn’t exactly a pack brahmin around...

 

Come to think of it, where did this guy even live??

 

Probably best not to ask at this point. He was looking almost impatient, expecting some sort of answer. As if there was a line or crowd forming behind Liam and he was holding up the flow of business--

 

_ Charm, Liam. Remember you have charm. _

 

“...ok…” Liam started, stretching out the word a bit. “What do you have in stock?”

 

In the end, plenty of booze was traded, lightening Liam’s load of glass bottles and being replaced with a few, more choice versions. Even a few caps. No one said he couldn’t work under less than ideal conditions. Or moods, rather.

 

He still didn’t know what to make of ‘Mac’.

 

“That guy was really weird…” MacCready commented as soon as they were well out of earshot.

 

He couldn’t agree more. “Took the words right out of my mouth. Got some good vintage stuff out of it, though. Hell, this wine might be older than me…” It’d been hard to tell since the label was half-faded and they’d been running out of light. “Anyway...” Liam tucked the bottle back into his pack, turning his attention to his pipboy as they continued down the road. “We shouldn’t be too far now. But hopefully we can find a safe place to camp soon.” It was well past dusk and he wasn’t too thrilled about travelling at night. He already knew MacCready wasn’t a fan. He’d caught the sniper looking around more warily than usual.

 

_ “ANNNNND THEY’RE OFF!” _

 

What.

 

Liam froze, eyes shooting to the side--coincidentally right in the direction of the airship--as a set of shapes lumbered past a broken bit of fence, silhouetted by what had to be firelight.

 

_ What the hell…? _

 

He spared MacCready a short glance.

 

Before he started marching across the sand and grass towards of the edge of the fencing.

 

There was a muffled curse, followed by the hurried crunch of sand as the sniper followed after him.

 

_ “Iron Maiden’s out in the lead, but Piece O’ Junk’s right behind…” _

 

Wasn’t this…? It was so familiar. Not in a “been here before” kind of way; more of an “I’ve heard of it” one. And since it wasn’t far from Revere, that made sense. He must have seen signs for it. And as they got closer, Liam slowing down as he instinctively dropped into a crouch to creep up on the scene before him, what he was seeing confirmed it.

 

_ “Iiiiiit’s neck ‘n neck!” _

 

This was a race track.

 

Specifically, Easy City Downs.

 

Once upon a time, there had been advertisements strewn all over about an upcoming big race. Not that he could recall what those posters had said, but he was sure the race currently taking place put that cancelled one to shame.

 

Robots.

 

_ “This is one  _ hell _ of a race!” _

 

_ Racing _ robots.

 

_ “It’s a great night out at the track, eh boys?” _

 

The speaker--for the announcer speakers were definitely still functioning and whoever was commentating had apparently practiced--was right above their heads, voice echoing loudly from it and easily muffling their sneaking. He doubted anyone was planning to look this way either, all the focus likely on the main event.

 

_ “Hope you all got your bets in. I sure did!” _

 

_...wait. That’s… _

 

Just over the din of night, in between loud announcer guy’s commentating, Liam could hear music, steadily getting more audible. Trumpets. Or was it a bugle? Damn, what was that song called?

 

_ “Annnnnnnnnd here they come!” _

 

He snapped his focus on the track again as the robots rounded the corner, following an eyebot of all things, and...yea, that was definitely the source of the bugling. That was also when he realized it was the classic “racing theme”, though this was the first time he’d ever heard it associated with robots.

 

_ “Iron Maiden is still in the lead.” _

 

He assumed the assaultron tailing the eyebot was the aforementioned “Maiden”. (Liam tried not to flinch at the sight of it, faded scar twinging at the memory of lasers.)

 

After that, there was an assortment of Mr. Handies and Gutsies (honestly, in this lighting, he’d never been able to tell them apart), and...was that a Protectron? He didn’t even know they could go that fast!

 

_ “This race is really heating up!” _

 

_ I’ll say… _

 

Liam was tempted to settle in and watch for awhile, even hearing MacCready quietly stopping beside him.

 

“This is the best use of robots I’ve ever seen,” he heard the sniper mutter excitedly, sounding for a second like a little kid. “Who knew they could be so much fun?”

 

He smirked at that, nodding his agreement. “People used to mock battle with them as well, but this is just as interesting.”

 

_ “Remember! We’ve got new bots in the lineup for tomorrow. Gonna be a grrreat race!” _

 

Man, he’d actually love to see that. Except those definitely looked like raiders on those makeshift platforms and shoddy shacks in the middle portion of the track, all of them watching the race and shouting out their support...or slander. This didn’t seem like a very welcoming crowd.

 

_ “Atomic Dreamz is still hanging in there…” _

 

...even if some of the names they’d come up with were pretty clever.

 

Although...as the robots made another lap around the track, Liam found this was starting to get old. Just how many laps were they planning to do? Maybe this was why he never got into car races.

 

The official ones on tv, anyway. The more “unofficial” sort that occured on not-so-sanctioned-for-race-use roads that he may or may not have snuck out to watch as a teen...well, that was a different story.

 

And...it might not have been because of the cars.

 

...cough.

 

_ “Hey!” _ Liam froze, afraid their cover had been blown--

 

_ “Pipe down out there! We got a race on!” _

 

“...um,” he muttered to the air, feeling his face flush as he realized that comment had not indeed been directed at his thoughts getting too loud. Quietly clearing his throat, he turned towards the sniper, ignoring the look of mild amusement hitching the corner of his mouth. “I get the feeling this race is gonna keep going for awhile. How about we head out and...I guess we could pass by here on the way back?” he added on, trying to quell the hint of disappointment he saw creeping onto MacCready’s face.

 

It seemed to do the trick--at least some--as the sniper took another glance at the running robots with a frown, but finally nodded (with reluctance). “Yea, sure. Let’s go get that holotape.”

 

\---

 

_ “What a race! What a race!!” _

 

As they crept away from the track just as quietly as they’d approached, MacCready kept shooting glances over his shoulder, trying to peek between the bits of broken fence to see who was in the lead. Although...he wouldn’t admit it, but the race had been starting to wear a bit. Rust like an old robot if you will.

 

MacCready smirked at his own joke, which was just sad. And evidence of how long this had been going on.

 

_ “We got some fine bots in this race…” _

 

Heck, even the announcer was starting to repeat himself. Maybe he was getting tired of it, too. But he supposed there were only so many ways to talk about racing robots.

  
_ “Atomic Dreamz is still hanging in there.” _

 

Especially if the lineup wasn’t changing.

 

Soon, the lingering sand of the beachfront (and echoing of announcer voices) was traded off for mounds of rubble and broken concrete. And...was that the wing of a plane? Might explain all the rubble if planes went down here. It might also make this place that much more dangerous, the prospect of plane parts being a source of valuable loot that could draw all sorts of people. The kind packing heavy weaponry.

 

MacCready trailed close to Liam as he stuck to the shadows, wondering if the blonde also felt the air of danger this place could bring.

 

The sign reading “Purified Water Ahead!” with an arrow pointing to a building could also be contributing.

 

“Right…” he heard the blonde. “Because that’s not suspicious at all.”

 

They ended up skirting by it by hugging close to an apartment building on the opposite side of the street. It even still had an old “Now Leasing” sign tacked above the doors. That one didn’t seem like a trap at least, as the doors were noticeably boarded shut. Unlike the ones of the...well, it seemed to be an old school. The East Boston Preparatory School?

 

MacCready squinted at the fancy crest up on the brick building, only visible because of the convenient (note the sarcasm) fire barrel someone had left burning on the front steps. “Looks pretty ritzy to me. This where the elite, high brows sent their kids or something?”

 

His mocking tone wasn’t lost on Liam, who snorted as he glanced over. “I don’t actually know, but somehow I doubt it. Looks more like they were trying to make it more fancy than it actually was.” He paused. “ _ Could _ be worth checking out, but I’m no sucker. But I do wonder...” he gestured to another sign pointing towards the building. “How many people fell for this?”

 

“Depends on how desperate they were. It’s not exactly an elaborate scheme.” Sadly, there really were people who would fall for it. Hard times leading to less thought out decisions. Not much they could do for those poor bast-- _ er, _ people at this point though.

 

“I guess…”

 

...but MacCready got the feeling this building was in his near future.

 

But not tonight, it seemed, as Liam continued forward. His mental sigh of relief was short-lived, however, for, when they turned the corner, following the pipboy’s map…

 

He groaned aloud.

 

Water.

 

At least ankle deep--deeper in some places, he bet--and it continued that way down the entire street ahead until it hit the river.

 

...and of course the police station was at the end of this very flooded street. Because why wouldn’t it be?

 

Liam paused, just shy of stepping into the murky water in front of them, and stared, glancing between the “road” ahead and his pipboy. Finally, he sighed, lowering it from his view. “Well...this is the place. I’ve got just one question I’d like to ask my life, though.”

 

MacCready got the feeling he was waiting for a prompt to continue, so (because he was mildly curious) he replied, “What?”

 

The blonde stuck his hand out in front of himself, palm facing up as he shook it at the sight before him. “What is it with police stations and water?”


	65. The Race to Close the Case

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank my friend for that chapter title cuz I was running a blank there. ='D

MacCready was not happy.

 

Between the hectic past couple of days (or more? he’d lost count) full of threats of death, the fact that he and Liam were sneaking around at night in a possibly Brotherhood-run neighborhood hoping to not get caught by the metal-obsessed group, and now the current “fun time” of wading through murky river water that had overrun its banks into said neighborhood and was filling his boots with said murky water while it threatened to seep higher up than his thighs...

 

He felt his grumpiness was justified. As was his quiet grumbling.

 

(If they hadn’t been sneaking, the grumbling would definitely not be quiet...but he was smart enough to bite his tongue in a potentially hostile neighborhood, thank you very much.)

 

When they finally crossed the water of the flooded street, he’d never been happier to see a collapsed building in his life. Even if it was mostly rubble, at least it was  _ dry _ rubble.

 

While Liam wasted no time climbing up through this building to pick through its remains, MacCready found himself a stable enough pile of concrete that was out of view so he could plonk down and pull off his boots. Ugh, that was a lot of water.

 

Pulling a face as he shook out the remaining droplets, the sniper looked over his shoulder at the crunching and shuffling of Liam traipsing around the ruins. He watched as the blonde pushed a few bits of fallen ceiling aside to get to the surprisingly intact desk beneath it, rummage through the drawers, and move on to the next, moving over the unstable ground with even more (though should he be surprised by the “cat” at this point?) surprising ease as he continued through the building. The floor was definitely at a slope, too. MacCready eyed it suspiciously, not really trusting it enough to risk his neck like his friend was.

 

Besides, one of them had to avoid falling in in case the other nearly broke his neck, right?

 

…

 

He really hoped Liam wouldn’t break his neck.

 

Shuddering once, he pushed the thought away immediately, events from the past few days threatening to weigh down his mind. Again.

 

Turning away as Liam continued his search, he decided it might be better to make himself useful by keeping watch. They hadn’t run across any clanking suits of armor in the vicinity, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any nearby. They were a lot closer to the Brotherhood’s airship than he was comfortable with. Maybe closer than he’d been in his life, in fact.

 

He pulled a face at his still-soggy boots (and socks, and pants), but yanked them back on anyway, deciding the risk of foot rot was a lot more welcome than slicing his feet open on loose shrapnel.

 

Still, though. Ugh.

 

He hoped they’d be done here soon.

 

If only so he could dry out his socks.

 

_ Ugh. _

 

\---

 

Liam shoved his third telephone into his pack, still amazed that they’d survived the collapsed ceiling.

 

But still no holotape.

 

By the time he’d unearthed the umpteenth desk to search through, he was starting to wonder if it was even here--

 

And lo and behold, as if the universe had heard him.

 

With a triumphant smirk, he popped the tape labeled “Winter 6” into his pipboy. Seven down, three to go.

 

_ “Message to Charlotte Wen…” _

 

As he let it play in the background, Liam fell into autopilot, searching the rest of the building (what remained of it) for any other useful junk. More telephones were always welcome, as was the random bottle of wonderglue he always found in someone’s filing cabinet.

 

As were the random cap stashes he always came across. Though he wondered why he didn’t question those more than he was right now. They were always so...convenient...and even more conveniently labelled with the word “CAPS” in giant letters, as if they were hoping to be found.

 

...or as if someone had placed them there  _ for _ him to find…

 

Or maybe he was just being paranoid?

 

He shook off the odd thought just as the tape concluded its message that he really didn’t care about. All that mattered was that he’d caught an “eight” in there. Another piece of the lock code. Now to find a working terminal in case it could point him in the direction of the other remaining tapes.

 

He scrambled over another pile of concrete and debris.

 

_ Should’ve brought my climbing gear… _

 

It really was crazy how so many of these police stations had taken so much damage. Had there been the equivalent of a storm surge or something? It was mostly the ones on the shore that had sustained any real damage. The station not far from Diamond City had been ok, and then there was the currently Brotherhood occupied Cambridge station that he still needed to return to.

 

One day anyway.

 

Yes he was still stalling.

 

Shut up.

 

Ah, finally. There was the hum of a working terminal.

 

Cracking his knuckles, Liam got to skimming through the police reports. Snickered at the usual oddness. Snorted at the stupidity of an armed robber losing his wallet of all things. And suppressed a shudder at one of the many “Nuka Killer” cases. He still wondered if they’d caught that guy or at least come close...or if the bombs had taken care of them.

 

Unfortunately, when he checked the Winter case file, it had nothing new to report. The location listed was one he was already aware of.

 

Though he did wonder about that “very expunged” vandalism log that was obviously about “record expunged”. Quite the scandal for “record expunged”!

 

Snorting to himself again, Liam carefully picked his way back down through the rubble to meet MacCready in the lower portions of the building. He noticed the sniper hadn’t joined him in his searching--not that he blamed the guy--so he assumed he had elected to keep watch at the “entrance”. Tossing a glance over his shoulder at the hovering airship he could spy through a gap in the wall, Liam knew he would have good reason to stand guard.

 

_ Huh. You can also see the ship _ \--(meaning the USS _ Constitution _ )--- _ from here. I wonder how those guys are doing… _ Or if Ironsides was coming up with another plan to move the ship farther towards the ocean. Lord only knew what would happen if they actually made it, considering the Great War had passed and the enemy they’d be seeking was no longer a viable threat (as far as he knew anyway)...

 

There was also Mass Fusion, too, but then, where  _ couldn’t _ you see Mass Fusion?

 

He slowed his steps once the sniper came into view, suddenly having the (childish) urge to sneak up on him. Even if that was  definitely stupid not wise. Still, though. The temptation was there, and Liam’s mischief side was rearing its childish head…

 

Calming his breath so it puffed out at its softest, he walked with measured steps, evenly distributing his weight so he hit the ground with the lightest force possible. He was a master of stealth. All his training and practice had led to this. No one could detect him if they didn’t have line of sight, and unless MacCready somehow had mutated eyes into the back of his head, there was no way he’d know Liam was coming--

 

“It’s quiet out here...”

 

\--Liam nearly sputtered as he jerked to a halt--

 

“Too quiet.” MacCready chuckled as he glanced back over his shoulder, directly at the blonde, who stood frozen to the spot in midstep. “I always wanted to say that.”

 

Like a deer in the headlights, Liam stared. How the hell had…?

 

He barely managed to maintain his composure, shifting his stance into a more “normal” one rather than the usual he took for stealth. Likewise, he caught a barely hidden smirk lifting the corner of MacCready’s mouth. Seemed they both sucked at hiding from each other right now.

 

But still. How the hell had he done that?? Had there been a loose rock he had skidded across the ground but not heard? No, that couldn’t be it. He may have lived through countless grenades, but they hadn’t taken his hearing to the point he wouldn’t notice an obvious sound. Maybe a few more of the higher frequencies than he should have lost at his age...but that was it! So what had…

 

“I could feel you sneaking up on me.”

 

Liam blinked.

 

As if he knew the response he had gotten, the sniper stopped holding back the amused smirk, letting it fill his face as he raised a brow. “Call it a gut feeling if you want, but it’s usually pretty accurate. Hasn’t let me down yet anyway.”

 

Liam just blinked again, not really sure how to comment other than an acknowledging, “Ok then...” It wasn’t like he didn’t believe it; there were plenty of times a feeling of ‘something isn’t right’ had saved his hide. He just...hadn’t had it used against him before. Would’ve made things a lot more difficult on past missions.

 

“Right. So. Anyway…” He took another look over his shoulder at the piles of rubble filling the building. “I found what we needed here, so...let’s just...get going then.” Oh god, his ears were turning red, weren’t they? Why was he so flustered at being caught?

 

Clearing his throat in a way that he hoped wasn’t awkward--but probably was--Liam whisked past the sniper, ignoring the snickering he heard following behind him.

 

At least it stopped as soon as they hit the water. Cue the expected grumbling.

 

Liam let himself smirk at that. He would say it was karma if he hadn’t been being a brat earlier.

 

Funny, though. He’d thought  _ he _ was the cat here…

 

\---

 

_ “We got some fine bots in this race…” _

 

They’d snuck their way past the suspicious school building again and were starting to head back the way they’d come, maybe to find a place to rest for the night since it was already late. (He couldn’t wait to hang his socks to dry if possible.)

 

But...seriously?

 

That race was somehow still going on?

 

MacCready couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

 

“Annnnd here they come!” Liam started muttering in mockery of the announcer’s voice over the speakers. “Making their way around the corner and nearing the finish line! We’re on lap three seventy-four of five hundred! You folks won’t want to miss the riveting conclusion to this race! ...in about three hours!”

 

_ Snerk. _

 

MacCready could sense a smirk from Liam as a grin broke out across his own face. It made it even more difficult to muffle his continued laughter.

 

_ Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang. _

 

He froze, all sense of amusement fleeing in an instant.

 

_ “What sort of riff raff is making all that noise?” _

 

_ Shi--fu--crap! _ That was a voice coming through another sort of speaker. And that clanking was power armor. Which meant--

 

A hand gripped his shoulder before he could finish the thought, dragging him off the road and further into the shadows between buildings. He would’ve protested if he hadn’t recognized the hand that had grabbed him or the form that had pushed him behind them as they crouched down.

 

He watched as Liam kept his eyes--or gas mask, rather--pointed at the mouth of the alley, staying low behind the dumpster he had moved them towards. His hand stayed where it was on MacCready’s shoulder, either to keep the sniper still or maybe to ground himself. Hell, MacCready wasn’t sure he was aware it was still there, but he didn’t protest it. Any extra noise or movement might draw unwanted attention. (And he kind of liked the warmth emanating from Liam’s hand.)

 

_ “Piece O’ Junk’s really showing off those new mods!” _

 

“It’s those raiders at Easy City Downs again,” a non-power armored voice answered. Probably a scribe since they always had one of those with them to record data or take field notes or whatever. The disgusted sneer was apparent in their voice as they continued. “It would seem they’ve modified robots for...racing.”

 

There was a scoff.  _ “This is why civilians can’t be trusted with technology.” _ There were a few more clangs of heavy boots as the edge of a suit of power armor stepped into view, helmet turned towards the direction of announcements still going on and giving a clear profile view as the moonlight glinted off it. MacCready tensed up, Liam’s hand squeezing his shoulder as he did so as if to remind him to stay still.  _ “Leave it in the hands of those without the capacity to understand, and misuse it.” _

 

_ “While I agree with you, Knight,” _ another voice interrupted, with an air of authority that indicated they were in charge of this group.  _ “Elder Maxson has yet to give the order to deal with them. He feels it would be a waste of resources to go after a group of raiders at this time for a mere lot of racing robots. And might I remind you,” _ they interrupted once again as the Knight was about to protest,  _ “our  _ current  _ orders are to patrol for any possible threats in the area. We’re already outside of our perimeter.” _ There was a clear hint that they should get moving again. MacCready hoped they would. He was getting really tense from having to stay pressed up against a brick wall for so long, scrunched up behind a dumpster. His ankles were not going to like him later.

 

And his toes still felt disgusting in his boots, but that was beside the point.

 

_ “Huh.” _ The Knight scoffed again, glancing about--and nearly giving MacCready a heart attack as that helmeted gaze swept across their hiding place. Liam’s grip on his shoulder tightened further. But then they turned away, likely facing their commanding officer.  _ “Noted, Paladin. Though I don’t see why we should be ignoring such an obvious misuse of technology.” _

 

_ “Take it up with the Elder if you’re so inclined, Knight. I prefer not to go against orders.” _

 

_ “...I’ll consider it, Paladin.” _

 

_ “The Elder is aware of their presence, Knight. Rest assured, that atrocity will be dealt with when the time is right.” _

 

_ “Of course, Paladin.” _

 

With that, the clanking of power armored boots started up again, slowly fading into the distance as it bounced off of old buildings. They waited in silence a bit longer before Liam finally released the grip he’d had on MacCready’s shoulder. His breath escape with a heavy exhale as he all but collapsed against the brick wall, sliding down it to sit with his back against it. “Oh,  _ man, holy shit, _ that was close…”

 

MacCready dropped heavily onto the ground beside him, keeping his legs drawn up for now as he didn’t fully trust leaving their hiding spot yet. He stared wide eyed at the wall in front of them, trying to wrap his head around what had just happened. How had they not been spotted?

 

_ “What a race! What a race!!” _

 

_ Oh, shut up. _

 

He scrubbed a hand across his face, trying to force his heart to stop beating so fast. His shoulder felt oddly cold now, too, but he didn’t comment on it. Now was not the time for that conversation. One thing was for sure, though: they couldn’t spend the night in this neighborhood. Not now when they had confirmation the Brotherhood were indeed patrolling it.

 

_ “Atomic Dreamz is hanging in there…” _

 

He really wished that guy would shut up already.

 

Apparently Liam felt the same, since he sighed in exasperation and turned his head in the direction the announcements were still coming from. “I don’t know about you, but...I’d really like that race to end already.” He paused, making MacCready both wonder and dread what was going through that blonde head of his. When Liam turned back towards him, his suspicions were confirmed. “Wanna help me go end it?”

 

If he’d been thinking clearly, he would’ve said no. Maybe hell no, followed by an  _ Are you crazy? _ or something else along those lines. He must’ve been more shaken up than he realized, since the words that came out of his mouth were definitely not along the lines of disagreement. Instead, the words that left his mouth were…

 

“Let’s finish that race.”


	66. Finish Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good races should end with fireworks.  
> ...close enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter gave me more of those "I forgot that happened" moments.

This was nuts.

 

Why the hell were they even doing this? MacCready had no answer to that question other than to plead insanity. Which was the only explanation he had right now. Hell, after that close encounter of nearly being discovered by a Brotherhood patrol, common sense seemed to have thrown up its hands, said “eff it”, and fled the scene. Or it was taking a nap. Something they could both use right now.

 

Because it was late and that couldn’t be helping.

 

Didn’t make Liam any less stealthy, though. MacCready almost got the feeling he was showing off (again?). Not that he really needed to; that announcer was still going on about the race. It almost felt like they could start shouting to the sky about “the glory of Atom and his wondrous glow!” and no one would give a damn.

 

...not that he would.

 

Still, it was like watching an artist at work, as Liam crept up the steps to the race track’s main building and disabled a tripwire lain across the top step before continuing onward to the door. He was afraid to follow too closely for fear of messing up the blonde’s work.

 

So he hung back a bit, choosing to observe so as not to hinder his friend, watching as he lined up a shot at a raider’s head, just visible through a window on the other side of the room. The silenced pistol barely made a sound, the only evidence of it being the red spray of blood and a body landing with a thump.

 

But apparently the raiders were less appreciative of the performance.

 

_“Ugh. Damn it. What is it now?!”_

 

\---

 

_Shit._

 

They’d definitely seen that. How could they not? But honestly, he’d been hoping they were too caught up in the race to notice a lone person off to the side falling over.

 

But apparently not. Hell, maybe the raiders were getting bored of the bot racing, too.

 

Liam pulled back from the doorway, pressing himself as flat as he could against the wall to stay out of si--

 

And immediately realized the effectiveness of his plans if it was just him hiding, remedying this by snatching his hand out to drag MacCready over to the wall so he’d be less in the open, too. Luckily, the sniper had only _started_ to yelp in surprise, stopping with a frown once he realized what Liam was doing.

 

Liam just held a finger up to his lips--or gas mask, rather--indicating to stay as quiet as possible as he nodded towards the door where he could hear people moving around in alarm. There was a small chance they could slip away unnoticed if they were quiet enough. There’d been a tripwire, which he’d disabled, so they might’ve been expecting that to go off long before anyone could sneak up on them. Maybe they’d think it was an inside job and not someone who had managed to get past it--

 

_“Take ‘em down, boys!”_

 

\--or not.

 

Guess they were doing this the hard way then.

 

Liam readied his pistol again, taking out the first guy he spotted getting too close to their hiding spot. He didn’t want MacCready to take any shots. Not to insult him, but that rifle of his would give away any remaining chance of stealth the two of them had. Maybe he should consider finding a silencer for it, or finally learn how to make them. _I wonder if Sturges has any weapons manuals lying around…_

 

He quickly took out another guy who had approached the one he’d just dropped. They were oddly well-dressed actually. Kind of reminded him of the triggermen he had taken out in-- _Ahem. I mean, the ah,_ rat problem _Hancock had been having that Charlie asked me to deal with. Quite the health hazard. Definitely needed exterminating. There just happened to be a few triggermen in those infested warehouses who unfortunately got caught up in the crossfire. Yes._

 

Who was he even trying to convince when all of this was in his head??

 

Liam quickly shook off the odd thoughts, automatically melting into the shadows as he finally set foot inside the building. He made sure MacCready stayed close, directly behind him so as to better stay out of sight. The deeper shadows in this building should make it easier to hide, but they were in (even more) hostile territory now. Why take the chance?

 

At least the speakers didn’t seem to be blaring anymore.

 

_“Who the fuck is that?”_

 

Apparently he’d spoken too soon.

 

“Don’t hide.” That was a different voice, coming from above. “Ain’t very courageous of ya.”

 

_No. But it’s more wise than announcing yourself. Thanks for making yourself known, by the way._

 

_“Come on! You’re holding up the race!”_

 

“Well, you were failing at finishing it, so I thought I’d do you guys a favor!” Liam was getting fed up, deciding to sarcastically whisper-shout back as if this was a conversation. Not that they’d actually hear him. As it was, probably only MacCready could hear his words. “I mean, _really_ , how many hours now?!”

 

“Stop hiding. We’ll make nice. Honest.”

 

“A nice wall splatter of your brains, perhaps,” he muttered flatly. And might’ve heard a quiet snort from behind him.

 

_“Just kill ‘em already!”_

 

More muttering. “Contradicting the ‘nice’ your buddies were trying to make there, pal.”

 

All the while, the bugling continued. Liam blinked as he caught sight of the robots running by the other open door, still circling the track. _You’d think they’d have put a pause to the race, but noooo, can’t have that, can we?_

 

“Oh, I’ll find ya.”

 

_Really? Because you’re not very convincing._ That voice was still coming from up above, sounding as if it hadn’t moved an inch. If these were supposed to be the track’s guards, they were doing a lousy job.

 

_Now, how do I get up there…_

 

He hadn’t found any stairs. But glancing around outside…

 

Liam huffed (quietly). _Oh. That’s great._ The series of platforms he’d caught sight of earlier that day--the ones connecting all the raiders’ hangout spots in the middle of the race track--definitely did run between all the makeshift shacks alright.

 

They also appeared to be the only access to the main building’s second floor. Which meant that, to get up there, they would have to go outside. Out into the middle of the track. Where they would be completely exposed. Just a couple of running targets in a real world version of that duck-shooting gallery game. Just what he wanted to do at--Liam glanced at his pipboy--past midnight. Fucking fantastic. (He briefly considered asking MacCready to wait here while he did that himself--and immediately shot the idea down himself. There was no way the sniper would let him. Not on his own anyway.)

 

Frowning up from his pipboy, he glanced around again, checking the main room in case they’d missed something.

 

Hold on. That was a terminal.

 

Immediately intrigued, Liam snuck over to it, ignoring the nervous egging on of the raiders/triggermen who seemed too chicken to actually try searching for their silent assassin.

 

“Yea! Run and don’t come back!”

 

_…_

 

Liam stared up at the ceiling. _You’ve gotta be shitting me._

 

They’d already given up. What the hell kind of guards were they? Had the announcer skimped out on hiring them or something?? He definitely couldn’t leave this now. Even MacCready had a look on his face that was a mixture of disbelief and disgust. Maybe even offense. He was a merc, after all. He’d probably been paid to do guard jobs in the past, and here these guys were giving mercs a bad reputation. Liam completely understood.

 

He pushed a paper aside from the keyboard--heh, one of those old race ads (into a pocket it went)--to hack his way in. A more challenging one, but luckily Tweedle-Dum and Dee upstairs had given up long ago. The robots made a few more laps around the track as he worked. He caught MacCready watching them from the corner of his eye, but mostly paying attention to their surroundings in case one of the idiots wised up or came wandering. Just automatically falling into the role of watching Liam’s back while he worked. Much appreciated.

 

Which was good, because he was starting to get frustrated. This terminal was proving more difficult than he realized. Hell, he was resorting to something he didn’t usually do.

 

Looking through codes.

 

_Oh man, if Whelan could see me now. Watching his former CO fail to hack a terminal. I can hear him freaking out already. “What the fuck are you--that’s not how you do that! There’s better ways to--that’s--don’t press that! Do you even know what that-- Look, are you even_ trying _to-- ...I don’t even know what you’re doing anymore…”_

 

_...of course, if he was here, I wouldn’t need to be doing this. He’d have it cracked in two seconds. Definitely a bet I’d take--finally!_

 

He was in.

 

Maybe weapons modification wasn’t the only thing he should read up on.

 

_Robot Controls, eh? Hmm…._ As he skimmed across the options in the terminal, a smirk lit up Liam’s face. Oh, this could be fun. And tactful.

 

But mostly fun.

 

He waited for the bugling to pass by again, finger hovering over the “enter” key as it slowly faded away.

 

And let loose the chaos.

 

_Blam blam blam blam--_

 

_“Perimeter movement detected.”_

 

_Zap! Zap! Zap!_

 

“Fuck!”

 

“What the hell is--”

 

“ _Shit!_ ”

 

**_zzzzAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA_ **

 

Liam automatically cringed away from the giant flash of red as an assaultron unleashed its head laser. His shoulder almost burned at the memory. Didn’t take away from the schadenfreude level of amusement he was taking from turning the robots onto their raider spectators, though. The wonders of disabling combat inhibitors. Perhaps they shouldn’t have left that setting in. Or made it so easy to reverse once you got through the terminal’s security. A glance towards MacCready showed equal parts shock and awe and repressed laughter in the form of his mouth twitching.

 

_“What the hell! What’s going on out there?!”_

 

_Insanity. That’s what._

 

And it was about to get better.

 

The sounds of shouts and gunfire and lasers and general pandemonium continued on for a few more minutes. It might be effective to let it continue on a little longer; thin their numbers a bit more maybe… But Liam figured he’d drawn the raiders far enough away and gotten them occupied enough. Time for the fireworks.

 

Liam tapped a few more keys, pulled one amused, somewhat confused sniper back with him behind the desk (“What are you--” “You might want to get into cover.”), and--

 

_BOOM--BOOM--_ **_BAM--BOOOOM--BWAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOMMMM--_ **

 

**_KRA-KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM_ **

 

Liam cackled quietly to himself as the whole place shook, shouts, yells, and flying debris filling the air. Even a few particles fell from the ceiling above.

 

In the dust-filled quiet that followed, he snickered and snorted, shoulders continuing to shake as he failed to fight off the grin that had taken residence on his face. He was sure MacCready could tell he was grinning without needing to see it.

 

“What...the hell was that…?” MacCready was definitely stunned; he could say that much.

 

Liam barely managed to quell his laugher, errant giggles still threatening to come through as he answered, “That was--”

 

“Am I freaking seeing things?”

 

A few snorted chortles did escape at that. Liam glanced towards the ceiling, wondering what look was on the announcer’s face right now for him to say that. He tried again to answer the sniper, “That...was something awesome.”

 

“...it was definitely something. ‘Crazy’ being another word that comes to mind.”

 

Liam snorted. “Tomayto, tomahto. It was effective. That’s what counts.

 

“Anyway…” He gripped the shoulder of one less-than-amused--though he suspected secretly _very_ amused and was just hiding it ( _I’m onto you, Mac…_ )--sniper. “Let’s go take care of the rest of them.”

 

\---

 

“I can’t believe that worked…”

 

After the little “lightshow” Liam had set off, the remaining raiders had proved to be easy pickings, some either “softened up” by the bots, or stumbling around in the smoke. Whatever the case, it seemed they hadn’t expected any extra assailants to come billowing out in the night like the two of them had.

 

The same could be said for the announcer--Ernie apparently?--once they’d managed to barge their way into his office. He’d barely gotten out a “What--” before his radio went off the air. For good. All that would play over the speakers was static now.

 

“Honestly? I can’t either,” Liam answered the offhand comment. “But did you _see_ the look on Ernie’s face?--before you shot him between the eyes, I mean… _Priceless!_ ” he laughed out.

 

“Heh. Yea. I’m almost sad it was that easy,” MacCready admitted. “Almost felt like you didn’t need me here at all.”

 

“Aww, come on, don’t say that,” the blonde spoke from where he’d begun rummaging around the office for loot. He looked up from the filing cabinet drawer he’d opened, a pack of screws in one hand, wrench in the other. “Sure, the robots softened everyone up--and I _know_ you found it awesome,” he added on accusingly, wrench pointed directly at the sniper in an almost threatening way. “Don’t deny it.” He lowered the wrench again. “But hitting that guy that perfectly? Like there was a bullseye painted on his face? There’s no way I would’ve landed a perfect shot like that. A headshot maybe, since he wasn’t really moving and it was at the right range...but nothing that spectacular.” MacCready felt his face starting to heat up at the praise. And then Liam’s voice grew softer as he continued, “Besides...I like having you with me.”

 

…

 

It took a second for the words to register. But when they did, his cheeks were _definitely_ burning. Although...maybe Liam hadn’t meant it as--oh, hold on, his ears were turning red, too! He’d definitely meant it like--

 

Yea. That talk...was going to happen. He was less unsure about it now, too.

 

But now this was turning awkward.

 

MacCready cleared his throat, breaking “eye contact” (since he could never be sure if Liam was looking directly at him with that gas mask over his face), to glance around the room. They hadn’t fully looted the bodies in here either. The triggerman in question (for that was how the guards were dressed) was still lying on the floor. They’d grabbed a key off of Ernie’s corpse, which was how they’d figured out the guy’s name, and assumed it was for the trunk nearby, where he could see Liam was heading now. So while he did that, the sniper opted to pat down the guard’s pockets. Might find ammo and caps at least; not something he’d turn down.

 

There was a bit of that, yes--nothing spectacular, but worth selling--and also a crumpled paper.

 

Frowning curiously, he smoothed it out the best he could, glanced to see Liam pouring through the terminal now, figured he’d be at it for a bit, and went back to making out the messy scrawl. Even after he’d squinted enough to make it out, it still read like gibberish to him. “Libertalia”? Paying half their take? He wasn’t sure what that was, but it sounded like these guys had been paying some sort of “protection tax”, and rigging the races to help cover them. Sounded like what that guy Finn used to pull on newcomers to Goodneighbor. It was exactly why Finn was now decorating the gutter. But for a group like this to be taking a threat seriously? MacCready was thinking they shouldn’t linger here too long in case someone arrived to collect.

 

“Find something interesting?”

 

He nearly jumped at Liam’s voice. Calming his heart, he automatically went on the defense. “I thought you were checking the terminal.” And immediately wished he hadn’t sounded so harsh. Even if it was reflex, that didn’t mean Liam deserved it.

 

Liam didn’t seem phased, however, choosing not to comment and instead tilting his head a bit, throwing a thumb back over his shoulder. “Just another set of robot controls. Completely useless now that they’re all blown up.” A smirk colored that statement. “Found a few caps in the trunk, though. An interesting comic on that desk over there. These guys didn’t have much. But what’d you find there?” He jerked his chin at the paper still in MacCready’s hand.

 

The sniper looked down at it again, frowning. “Not really sure. Looks like these guys were paying for...protection I guess? Or forced to pay anyway.” He looked into the gas mask again. “Ever heard of Libertalia?”

 

Said gas mask tilted at him, giving the impression Liam was blinking in confusion as he thought. “No. I don’t...think so anyway. It’s vaguely familiar, but…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you why.” His head straightened up again, voice taking on a more serious tone. “Why? Do you think that...group? seems serious? Like they’re bad news or something?”

 

“I don’t know…” MacCready looked down at the crumpled sheet, starting to fold it up and stash it into his duster. “Seemed to have these guys worried. I’m just thinking we shouldn’t hang around here in case we find out.”

 

“Yea. Good idea.” Liam glanced out towards the track as light reflected off his mask. “Sun’s already rising, too. We’ve been here all night.”

 

The sniper made a face at that. “Great. Because I love traveling on no sleep.”

 

Liam snorted. “Right back at ya. But sounds like we have no choice. Brotherhood right over there.” He gestured towards the giant airship, looming above everything in that superior way of theirs. Bet they’d gotten a great show from up on their deck. “This mysterious ‘Libertalia’ we have no idea about…” The blonde’s gaze seemed to linger on the view out over the race track. Beyond it even. Not that MacCready blamed him. It really was quite a view...even if he didn’t like the ocean. The rising sun was reflecting off the ships out in the harbor, the same ones the blonde had marked on his map to check out later. He almost thought Liam would suggest they check those out now instead of coming back here another time like he’d originally said. But instead… “Unless you wanna camp at the satellites again, I think it’d be better if we just head out now and try to make it back to Sanctuary by nightfall.”

 

Goodneighbor or Diamond City might be closer, but… MacCready sighed. Yea, heading for the settlement was probably the better idea. The area around it had seemed pretty quiet, and he knew getting to either major city could be a hassle even on the best day. A quiet, out of the way settlement was something of a godsend right now. Especially with how beat he was. Not needing to fight their way there as much sounded nice.

 

“Nah. Let’s just head for Sanctuary. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can take an actual break.” _And have that talk about what we are._ MacCready had been anticipating that conversation for too long now. His eyes lingered on a spot on Liam’s upper chest, right about where he remembered him stashing the wooden soldier.

 

Yea.

 

They really did need to clear a few things up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might've had a little too much fun mocking the triggermen. Both then and now.
> 
> Oh, and Happy Halloween!  
> (^vv^)  
> ...sad attempt at a jack-o-lantern.


	67. 'L' is for...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This dance needed to stop...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hooo boy, this might be the longest chapter I've written yet. Buckle in. It's gonna be...yea.

“I wonder who would’ve won the race.”

 

They’d taken a quick walk around the track, dodging around bits of robot debris (and the occasional dead body), wanting to get one more look before they headed off. Or at least, Liam had wanted to take one last look at the track. And then proceed to run a full lap around to the holotape the leading eyebot had been playing after he’d found it.

 

That bugling was going to be ringing in MacCready’s ears for awhile now; he was sure of it.

 

At least he wasn’t playing it now. Even with his random tendencies to act like an overgrown kid, the blonde knew better than to create extra noise that would draw attention. Especially being a stealth expert.

 

“My bet’s on Iron Maiden,” was MacCready’s flat response. “Though I hear Atomic Dreamz was hanging in there.” Speaking of things that would be ringing around in his ears for awhile.

 

Liam laughed out, “Heh. Yea, that seemed to be the word around the area. Guess we’ll never know for sure though. Or if Lady Lovelace would’ve stood a chance in that one-on-one race they had planned. Shame those bots got so destroyed, though. Could’ve salvaged more parts from them...”

 

The sniper was afraid to think of what “more” parts would look like. They’d already gathered a lot of scrap and countless items he couldn’t identify. With how mangled everything was, it was a miracle (and shame) that holotape had survived. He really hoped it was more for collecting purposes than for function.

 

Even if it was oddly endearing watching Liam run that lap around the track to the obnoxious bugling.

 

Probably would’ve been more endearing if MacCready wasn’t running on emergency energy reserves. Where did Liam get that enthusiasm from? Some pre-war secret perhaps? He often forgot the blonde was from over two hundred years ago...but nah, that couldn’t be it. Guess it was to remain a mystery, lost to the nuclear sands of time...

 

His thoughts were starting to get weird. Proof of how tired he was.

 

Soon the race track was out of sight, the smoking of robots fading into the distance.

 

Only to be replaced by the still-smoking boardwalk.

 

And then the still-smoking the satellite array.

 

MacCready raised a brow at that one, noting the evidence of their passing. “Not exactly subtle, are we?”

 

“I can be plenty subtle.”

 

He stared. Flatly.

 

“...” Liam seemed to doubletake a few times, barely shifting his head towards the sniper. It was subtle alright. “...usually,” he conceded. “I mean...I try to be subtle, and you gotta admit, I’m not half bad at stealth…” Damn impressive, more like. “It’s just certain situations I’m forced into that ruin things for me. Things like rocket launchers, or grenades, or exploding robots…”

 

“...those last two things are things you did.”

 

“Like I said, situations I’m forced into.”

 

MacCready just snorted. _Oh, he’s good._ He’d almost forgotten about that way with words. The silver tongue or whatever you wanted to call it.

 

“But I would prefer not to do things that way. Usually, that is,” Liam corrected himself as he continued, suddenly turning serious. “Not really my style. Can’t really do much about that, though. Not like I can sneak past what I don’t expect. This world doesn’t always make it easy.” He sighed. “I was never the strategist. That was always someone else’s thing. Their specialty.”

 

The sniper frowned at how defeated Liam was sounding. (He wasn’t even sure that last part was meant for him to hear.) Guess the burst of energy he’d had back at the track was just for show, or spurred on by the obnoxious bugling. He’d almost put up with hearing it again if it had the same effects.

 

Almost.

 

Still, though. He wanted to offer _some_ words of...while not really comfort, then consolation maybe? “You do seem to handle yourself pretty well despite it not being your specialty.” He didn’t bring up the ‘lousy shot’ thing. Didn’t seem appropriate at the moment. And honestly, Liam wasn’t that bad; getting better even.

 

And still carrying that serious tone. “Like they say--adapt or die. Whoever ‘they’ were.”

 

Ok...he really wasn’t sure where this conversation was heading anymore. “I’d much rather you avoid the dying part.” He’d see to that personally as long as he could, even. Couldn’t stand the idea of losing anyone else that he...cared about. (This wasn’t the right time to blush at his own thoughts.)

 

Liam barked a single laugh, lacking any real humor. More of a ‘heh’ really. But MacCready swore there was an underlying warmth to it, as if he’d heard the unspoken sentiment to the sniper’s words. “Me, too, Mac. Me, too.”

 

They didn’t speak much after that. Only making idle chatter as it was appropriate.

 

And true to what MacCready had thought, the road (and not road in some cases) to Sanctuary had very few conflicts to deal with. All in all, it stayed relatively quiet. A couple of skirmishes since it was unavoidable; some bugs and lurks they managed to slip past. Nothing particularly noteworthy or major.

 

Which was just fine for him.

 

By the time they were crossing the wooden footbridge--having taken out a stray raider lingering around Concord--it was well past nightfall, and MacCready was ready to drop the second they stopped. Preston greeted them as they arrived, but upon taking one look at the two of them, he merely nodded (“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, General.”) and let them continue on their way into the settlement.

 

MacCready pretended he hadn’t skipped a step. He kept forgetting Liam was the Minutemen’s General, so Preston’s words might’ve thrown him briefly. Liam just...gave off this air of...basically, it was the opposite of what he’d known most leaders to be. Not the cold, detached observer, but rather a warm, welcoming guide who was happy to counsel. And maybe that was why the Minutemen were steadily growing.

 

A couple more houses had been cleared of debris and were in the process of being renovated and patched, but MacCready headed for the same bunk he’d claimed the last few times he’d been here, finding it as empty as the last time he’d used it. It was as if it was unofficially officially “his” now.

 

He still wondered about Liam’s house, though, having seen the blonde head that way once he’d said his good nights. No one ever entered that house. Not to his knowledge, anyway. It seemed a bit...odd. It was certainly big enough that it could take on more settlers, even with the Mr. Handy that seemed to occupy it as well.

 

Or maybe that was it--the Mr. Handy. It probably made people too nervous to approach.

 

He may have even had these exact thoughts last time he was here. As it was, sleep had a bigger pull on him than the thought of continuing these...thoughts. They could wait until morning.

 

As could that conversation, which they _were_ going to have.

 

\---

 

Unfortunately, said conversation was forced to wait.

 

In a case of deja vu, Liam was nowhere to be found again.

 

Not wandering the settlement. Not inside the main house having breakfast with everyone. Not even in his own house, which MacCready had cautiously approached and even more cautiously asked the Handy about after being stared at unsurely by constantly focusing lenses (much like someone narrowing their eyes suspiciously, trying to decipher his motives...or if he was worth their time).

 

“Master Liam is not in, I am afraid.” MacCready had barely held back the bewildered expression that had wanted to cross his face. _Master_ Liam? He hadn’t had a chance to process that before the robot continued, still eyeing him suspiciously. “He said he would, and I quote, ‘Be back in a little while’. I suspect I know where he’s gone off to, but as he didn’t specify, I assume he didn’t want that information to be shared. I do hope you understand.”

 

He could’ve strangled the thing for being so difficult! But MacCready suspected he may regret that. Right away. Handys did come with flamethrowers attached, after all, and this one seemed to be in acceptable shape. He’d rather not risk it.

 

Or risk Liam’s wrath, as this Mr. Handy clearly belonged to him, even referring to him as _Master_ (he still couldn’t wrap his head around that; barely could wrap his head around the whole “General” thing).

 

So instead, he bit his tongue on how he really wanted to respond, replying as calmly as he could, “Ok. I’ll just...wait for him to come back, then. Thanks,” he barely managed to add on, figuring extra manners couldn’t hurt.

 

The robot had merely given some semblance of a nod at him, retreating back into the house. But not closing the door, as he assumed it would do. Come to think of it, he didn’t think he’d ever seen that door shut. Odd, really.

 

Still, though, he couldn’t stand around here, and the robot obviously didn’t want him stepping inside despite the open door (or so he assumed; he didn’t want to press his luck or even try peeking in despite his curiosity), so that left him little option of what to do. He could probably walk around the neighborhood; see the progress they had made. Maybe even lend a hand if there was a job he was familiar with. He’d even farm tatos at this point.

 

Really, though, he was just looking for anything to do other than working on that power armor that was still taunting him from the workshop across the street. Still hitched up by chains in the workstation where it had taken the place of Liam’s set of T-45 (which stood parked to the side, like it was giving moral support). Why had he wanted that rustbucket again?

 

 _Because it’s cool_ , his mind pointed out. And then betrayed him by pointing out what he’d been denying this whole time, _And because you don’t want Liam going into the Glowing Sea without someone watching his back._

 

He wanted to tell his mind to go shove it, but…

 

MacCready eyed the power armor, and he swore the goggles of that crude mask were looking at him just as accusingly.

 

He sighed.

 

And finally crossed the street, pushing up his sleeves.

 

\---

 

He felt a bit lighter leaving the vault this time.

 

Despite the heaviness he’d felt when he’d walked back in.

 

Liam had woken up that morning wanting to have a chat with Nora. To tell her about everything that had been going on. The progress of the Minutemen...the repairs on Sanctuary and other up and coming settlements across the Commonwealth...the friends he had made and the people he had helped (which went pretty hand-in-hand)...

 

He’d been more than reluctant to talk about Shaun. And the Institute. And the lack of progress he’d made on that front, despite the promise in his heart that he _would_ do his best to rescue their son. Or at the very least, gather more information and find out if that was even possible. The fact he hadn’t done much since Kellogg was what was grating on his guilt.

 

He hoped she understood. It...felt like she did. ...or maybe that was just his grief talking.

 

Although...his grief wasn’t holding as strongly these days, further adding to the self-inflicted guilt.

 

Logically, Liam knew he couldn’t mourn forever. That one day, he would come back here not in depression or a feeling of emptiness on the verge of tears. Maybe more in acknowledgement of her passing. Acceptance. Whatever the order of grief was. “You’re gone, but I still live” was a good mantra to follow.

 

But he couldn’t help feeling it was...too soon. It hadn’t quite hit two months since he’d awoken from the vault, and here he was already feeling the tugs of his heart towards another. Not a full...commitment?...but the start of something.

 

He traced the outline of the wooden soldier in his front pocket, feeling it bump against the holotape it was sharing space with.

 

Was it even fair to look ahead yet when he was still looking towards the past?

 

Nora would have said “his heart was too big to keep to himself”. That he didn’t deserve to be alone the rest of his life. He could hear her say those words clear as day as he had finally, with even more reluctance, told her about his recent travels across the Commonwealth. About his developing feelings for a certain skinny sniper.

 

While he’d felt horrible admitting it (as, like the lessening mourning, it felt too soon), there had been no strike of judgement like he had expected. Just the silence of the vault as it continued to cool the air around him, now filled with the acknowledgement of his feelings put into words. It had lifted a great burden off of his shoulders.

 

But one thing was for sure still: he needed to talk to MacCready. They had some things to discuss.

 

…

 

Though this was not the way he expected to find the sniper.

 

Liam stopped in his tracks, blinking at the sight before him. He wasn’t even sure it was real. And--looking around--there wasn’t anyone else with whom he could confirm the realness with.

 

There was MacCready, in the shade of the carport workshop, wrench in hand and various other tools laid out before him as he twisted and pulled and adjusted one of the shoddy power armor’s actuators (as well as grunted and grumbled a series of bitten off not-swears, much to the blonde’s amusement). Much of the metal plating had been stripped away and set off to the side on the armor bench, a rubber mallet nearby for when it was time to straighten the kinks and dents out of them.

 

But what really caught his eye was not the fact that MacCready was working on the power armor (which was shocking enough, as he’d been less thrilled to do so after finding out how much work it would be). No. It was the fact he was working on the power armor with only a white t-shirt clinging to his torso, both of the sleeves having been ripped off at some point. And cling it did, what with the sweat the sniper had already worked up, outlined further by smudges of oil and dirt…

 

Liam cleared his throat to put a stop to those thoughts, and to help find his voice so he wouldn’t choke as he called out in announcement of himself, “Well. I can’t say this is a bad look for you.” He let a smirk color his face as the sniper really did almost swear, the wrench catching in a way that wasn’t intended.

 

MacCready threw a scowl over his shoulder, made cuter by the red coloring his cheeks. “Yea yea, laugh it up. Trying to get some work done here.”

 

He grinned. “I can see that.” Snickering at the grumble he received as the sniper turned his focus back on the rusted bolt that was besting him, Liam decided to take pity and push the amusement off of his face the best he could. Of course, traces of it were still lining the corners of his eyes, but eh, what could you do. “So...why the sudden urge to work on the armor? We haven’t really planned what we’re doing next. Not like I know if we’re going to need it yet.”

 

MacCready paused at the words, glancing at Liam briefly from the corner of his eye before returning to working at the bolt. What had that look been? He didn’t have the chance to decipher it before the sniper answered. “I don’t know. I just...figured it needs to get done at some point. And I’m here now, so…” he trailed off in lieu of a shrug.

 

All the blonde said to that was, “Uh huh,” in a tone of understanding acknowledgement. There was something MacCready wasn’t saying. He obviously wasn’t enjoying the work he was doing, so something had to have made him want to work on that armor. Finish it sooner for whatever reason. Someone maybe? Had Sturges said something? Hm. Who could say?

 

Instead of poking at the subject since MacCready was going to be working on that rusty metal anyway, Liam eyed the currently clear weapons bench. “I might do some maintenance myself. More likely weapons mods, though,” he added on in case MacCready took that as him wanting to move out of the way of the power armor station. It might be wise to build a second station at this rate. The raider armor could take awhile, and he already felt guilty for not working on his own. Seeing all that work almost made him want to roll up his sleeves and get started right now.

 

Realistically, that would have to wait. Hell, weapons modding would have to wait, too. “But I won’t get in your way. I’ll leave you to it for now.”

 

He needed to see if there were any arms and armor manuals lying around. Needed to brush up on his knowledge…

 

...and get ahold of himself before he was tempted to get a _hold_ of himself.

 

…

 

That thought hadn’t helped.

 

Perhaps he’d take a cold shower first.

 

 _MacCready could probably use a shower, too_ \--

 

_His brain could stop now, thanks._

 

\---

 

_Coward._

 

MacCready swiped at his hands with a rag, trying to do so calmly and not show the frustration he was feeling at himself.

 

_That was your chance to talk and you let him walk away._

 

 _I was up to my elbows in grease!_ he pointed out.

 

 _Yes_ , his mind retorted, making its own point, _but you don’t know when you’ll get a chance alone like that again. You know how he gets. Always checking in with everyone, and then disappearing into his house for the night._

 

_There’s always tomorrow…_

 

 _Tomorrow he could be doing who-knows-what again like he was this morning. You might not_ get _another chance._

 

_Then I’ll wait ‘til we’re on the road again._

 

 _‘On the road’ is the reason you waited until you were back in Sanctuary…_ it pointed out, this time with an air of smugness and logic he had a hard time ignoring.

 

_Fine! Then I’ll just go knock on his door tonight! No one else should be there since no one goes in!_

 

 _Except the robot_. Ok, now his mind was getting annoying. Did it want him to talk to Liam or not?

 

 _Just saying_ , his mind continued at his thoughts. _Be prepared for that._

 

_Sure. Fine. Now shut up already._

 

Luckily, there was no retort that time.

 

MacCready sighed to himself, resigned. He was going mad.

 

The sooner he got this talk done and things figured out, the better.

 

\---

 

_Grognak raised high his trusty sword._

_“FALL, FOUL CHILDREN._

_“Taste. My. STEEL!”--_

 

_\--nok-nok-nok_

 

Liam blinked, immediately broken from the trance of comic book as his eyes flicked to the door. Odd that anyone would knock. He hadn’t bothered to shut it since that terrifying day so long ago. Not that it mattered, as the side door had yet to even be replaced.

 

His heart jolted.

 

There stood MacCready, knuckles still raised from where they’d rapped on the door frame as he stared down at the ground. Those eyes rose for the briefest of moments, dropping down again when they noticed the attention pointed their way. Was he turning red?

 

“Hey. So, um...do you have a minute to talk?”

 

Liam blinked again. “Sure, I guess. Not doing anything important anyway.” He set the comic aside. It wasn’t like he didn’t have it practically memorized by now. “What’s on your mind?”

 

MacCready’s eyes flicked towards the mechanical whir coming from across the room. Following the sniper’s gaze, he spied Codsworth puttering about, tidying up the kitchen despite the fact it was already tidy. He felt kind of bad about that. Apparently no one seemed to interact with Codsworth outside of himself. While he was constantly assured “No harm, Sir. It’s just good to have you back” Liam still felt guilty for being away so much. Hardly anyone even went near his house. Even when he was home. Was it out of respect for his belongings and origins? ...or fear of his old friend?

 

Either way, the sniper was still eyeing the robot out of the corner of his eye. Whatever he was here for, he obviously didn’t want to talk around any extra sets of ears. Or sensors in this case.

 

“Hey, Codsworth?” He waited for those eyestalks to focus his way, already feeling bad for what he was about to do. “Could you, maybe, give us a moment please?” But if MacCready wanted privacy for this, he would comply.

 

“Of course, Sir!” was the bubbly response, as jovial as ever despite the request. “I shall just be out back if you need me! Do let me know if there’s anything you need.” With that, he hovered his way out the side door, disappearing out of sight around the corner.

 

Liam turned back towards the sniper, who was now staring at the floor. And were his eyes darting about like he wanted to be anywhere but here?

 

The blonde frowned, wondering what was up. “Is everything alright? If you’re worried Codsworth will overhear, he knows not blab to anyone if it’s something you want kept secret.” His eyes widened a fraction as a thought hit him. “It’s not Duncan, is it? Did you find something out?”

 

\---

 

That...wasn’t necessarily the problem.

 

While Liam sending the robot out of the room helped, it didn’t make this any easier. And he was surprised he’d done it; that the order had been taken without argument. In fact, “Codsworth” was it? seemed... _happy_ to comply to Liam’s demands, as if there was no need to phrase them as a polite request.

 

How _does_ one talk to their (more than) friend about where the two of them stand? What they are--if they even _are_ anything.

 

But then there was a subtle shift to Liam’s curious expression. A concerned widening of the eyes. “It’s not Duncan, is it? Did you find something out?”

 

What?

 

MacCready blinked, caught off guard. “No, it’s...not Duncan.” But come to think of it, would he have gotten a letter by now? Was it too soon to know if the cure had worked? Oh man, now he wouldn’t be able to think about anything else.

 

As if sensing his thoughts, Liam’s brows rose. “If you want, we can swing by Goodneighbor sometime soon to see if anything’s arrived for you.”

 

“I--yea, that would...that would be good, thanks. But that’s…” He shook his head. “That isn’t what I came here to talk about. It’s--” he bit off the words with a slight growl, frustrated with himself. How to even start?

 

Liam tilted his head with a frown. Obviously he was concerning the blonde. His best friend could usually read him well, even when he didn’t realize it. He appreciated that he could see Liam’s face right now so he could read him just as easily without the educated guesses he’d been making on the road. _That damn gas mask…_

 

“Look,” he finally said in an attempt to begin. “We’ve been traveling together for awhile now, and we’ve been through a lot. Seen a lot of shi--ah, crap. Gotten out of a lot more of it. We’ve watched each others’ backs on more occasions than I can count.”

 

Liam’s brow furrowed further, followed by him leaning an elbow on the arm of his chair so he could bring the knuckles of one hand against his mouth, as if he was trying to figure MacCready out.

 

Perturbed, and wondering vaguely just what Liam was thinking, he pushed onward. “I trust you more than I’ve trusted anyone in a long time. Trusted you with a lot more about myself than anyone else knows.” Which was just...damn, he hadn’t realized it, but it was true. Hell, not even Daisy knew as much as Liam did, and he trusted her with his life.

 

Blonde brows rose a bit at that, blue-gray eyes flicking away for a second before focusing back on him just as intently.

 

Liam was definitely listening. And that was just as unnerving as it was helpful. Still, he pressed on, needing to get this out now before he lost his nerve. Or the robot came back. _No, don’t think about that; it doesn’t matter. Only this does._ “You’ve...shown me what it’s like to be a better person. About giving a damn. Helping others out when they need it… I’ve learned a lot about myself these past few weeks we’ve traveled together.”

 

The blonde suddenly sat up straighter, hand no longer covering his mouth. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

 

“What?” He blinked. “No, that’s-- There’s _no way_ I’d wanna leave now. Not when I finally realized how much I like--” He cut himself off, feeling his face become unbearably warm.

 

Liam stared.

 

MacCready growled to himself. “Damn it, this isn’t how I wanted this conversation to go…” he muttered to the floor. Picking his gaze back up again, he looked directly at the still-blinking blonde. “I like you, ok?” He had to be bright red by now. “If it wasn’t obvious already. I just...wanna know what that makes us. If you…like me the same way, too, I mean.” There. He’d said it. Not as eloquently as he would’ve liked, but as he didn’t have the gift of a silver tongue, he’d take it.

 

Yet Liam continued to stare.

 

Crap.

 

Had he screwed up? Had he read the intentions of that kiss by Lynn Woods wrong? Even if it was followed up by another the next day…

 

But...maybe that hadn’t been serious? It wasn’t like he was the best at reading people. There were times he screwed up figuring people out. And even if he was getting better at reading Liam, there were still times it was like he was wearing a mask even when he wasn’t wearing a mask.

 

…

 

Liam was still staring.

 

MacCready started to shrink back on himself, shifting to eye the open doorway in case he needed to make a quick retreat.

 

\---

 

_...maybe…_

 

Liam’s heart was pounding in his chest.

 

He couldn’t believe MacCready had said--

 

That he’d apparently been thinking--

 

_“I like you, ok? I wanna know what that makes us. If you like me the same way, too.”_

 

_Maybe it’s not too soon…_

 

“Hey, Codsworth?” he called out loudly enough for his voice to carry out the door (and seeing MacCready jump a bit as the silence was broken).

 

A clanking could be heard as the Handy appeared at the side doorway. “Sir?”

 

“We’ll be back in a little while, alright?”

 

“Ah, yes. Of course, Sir.” The eyestalks bobbed in semblance of a nod. “Oh, but Mister Liam?” All three eyes pointed directly at him, lenses going wide. “Please do be careful. It’s starting to get dark, and I’d hate for anything to happen to you.”

 

Liam found himself smiling at the worry in Codsworth’s mechanical voice. He didn’t care what anyone said; this kooky robot was family. “Don’t worry. We’re not going far. Besides,” he directed a smile at the nervously-fidgeting sniper, “there’s no one better to watch my back.” That earned him a blink and a blush. Liam just smiled wider at that, turning his attention back to Codsworth. “Watch over the place for me, ok?”

 

One robotic limb saluted. “It shall be my honor, Sir!” With that confident acknowledgement, Codsworth took his place amongst the kitchen again, going back to puttering about as he had before.

 

Liam just shook his head with a slight smile as he got to his feet. Turning towards a still-quiet sniper, he stepped closer, heading for the door. “Come on, let’s go.” When he didn’t move, Liam reached for his hand, tugging him along beside him. _That_ finally snapped MacCready out of it.

 

“What. Where’re we--”

 

The blonde merely smiled again, giving the sniper’s hand a brief squeeze. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

 

\---

 

This wasn’t what he’d expected.

 

It had been weird (and unsettling) enough when Liam had led him outside of the settlement via a small footbridge that took them up a hillside path.

 

It had been even more startling to find that path led up to a vault.

 

“111” was emblazoned in big numbers on the cog-shaped surface embedded into the ground. MacCready had simply stared at it, mildly questioning its placement until the blonde had walked over towards a small building, pressing a button within, and took up his hand again until they both stood upon it.

 

And then needed to grip him around the shoulder as the sniper nearly lost his balance when the whole thing began to move. He felt his face heating up, moreso at the chuckle next to his ear--and might have reacted further if he hadn’t been a mixture of embarrassed by his surprise and unsure of why exactly they were here.

 

This was a vault. Vault 111. _Liam’s_ vault.

 

He hadn’t realized it was _this_ close, and _Is this where Liam always goes?_ Those times in Sanctuary when he couldn’t be found. When no one really knew where he went. That Codsworth hadn’t known specifically when asked since he hadn’t been told, but basically did know because of course he’d know the placement of the vault.

 

But...Liam had said there was someone he wanted the sniper to meet? Who could he possibly be meeting when the only living (former) resident of said vault was standing beside him?

 

A sense of unease was filling his gut, but it was also telling him to trust Liam in this. He wasn’t in danger. He trusted the blonde to not purposely put him into harm. But what was going on?

 

The elevator finally hit ground with a small shake (he could proudly say he kept his balance this time), and _shit_ (sorry Duncan) _, it was freezing down here!_

 

And no wonder. Frost dusted the exposed pipes he could see in the ceiling, water dripped from a few of them to gather on the floor in a few shallow puddles. Not cold enough to actually freeze them solid, but enough to fog the breath in front of his face.

 

Liam’s hand was around his again, tugging him onward. He swore the temperature dropped even more the further they went. This was getting worrying. It was way too quiet in here. The only sounds were their footsteps echoing off the chilled walls, the breaths exhaled from their lungs. MacCready felt like he was breathing too loud. He couldn’t tell if the crawling feeling up his back was from the air or his nerves.

 

The grip around his hand tightened a bit. Liam must have felt uneasy, too. But aside from the hand in his, the sniper could see no signs of unease. Just a determined crease to his brow. Moving with purpose. Staring straight ahead--

 

Ah. But that was it, wasn’t it. Liam was purposely trying not to take in their surroundings, because it was _this vault_. It probably held too painful of memories, so he was disassociating his way through it to avoid having a breakdown. Or something. But again, that brought up the question.

 

Why were they even here? To meet some--

 

_Oh._

 

Just as MacCready realized who that “someone” must be, his realization was confirmed…

 

As they walked down a set of stairs into a room full of tanks. Human-sized. Upright. The drop in temperature finally made sense.

 

These were cryo pods.

 

Deep freeze coffins for the residents who would never rise again.

 

His shudder this time wasn’t from the cold.

 

As they reached the end of the long room, the first thing he noticed was the single empty tank. The door was still open. It was dented.

 

From the inside.

 

MacCready felt hot tears choke his throat.

 

That hand squeezed his again, drawing his attention.

 

Liam was watching him quietly, expression unreadable as he said nothing. Then he simply nodded, and slowly turned his gaze to the pod across the way from the open one.

 

A tear finally slipped free as the blonde broke the silence. “This is who I wanted you to meet.

 

“MacCready...this is Nora.”

 

\---

 

He squeezed the sniper’s hand again.

 

This was probably a weird way to continue their conversation from earlier. For him to answer the question MacCready had proposed. But…

 

Liam just...felt it was right for them to be here. To speak in front of Nora. Include her in the conversation.

 

“Hey again, hon…”

 

Just like every time before, the mousy-haired brunette didn’t respond. Not that he expected her to. He might imagine her voice in how she _might_ respond to things he was thinking, or how she might call him a “hopeless fool” from time to time in that affectionate way of hers… But the day he actually heard her voice would be the day he found whatever semblance of a mental ward existed in this world to promptly check himself in. No. These days, she was more of an outlet for him to get out all the things on his mind without having anyone answer back, while still feeling like someone might be listening.

 

This time, though, someone _was_ listening. And that was entirely the point of this trip.

 

“I know. Twice in one day is a little weird, isn’t it. But…” He shook his head with a small smile. “Don’t worry. Nothing’s wrong. I just…” He glanced at the sniper. “Needed to talk to you again.” He smiled at the curious blink he received, briefly tightening his grip on MacCready’s hand again. He turned back to the eternally sleeping face. “What I said earlier? That ‘I think I’m falling for another’? I’m completely sure of it now.” He brought their joined hands up, feeling those deep blue eyes watching him closely, closing his own eyes as he pressed those fingers to his lips.

 

“My heart is too big not to share. I think…” He opened his eyes again, looking straight into deep blue as he spoke. “...I’m falling in love again.”


	68. Crazy They Call Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A couple more days in Sanctuary.  
> Tensions were starting to mount.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was technically "done" yesterday. I was satisfied with where it stopped.  
> But then my brain insisted that the next part I had planned would be perfect in here, too. So those scenes had to get added in tonight.  
> This explains me posting this so late (/early).  
> Anyway, November 14 was the anniversary of Liam's creation. Happy 3 years of existing, you dorky blonde. <3

_ Warm. _

 

MacCready sighed, a sense of contentment washing over him as he settled further into the comfortable warmth surrounding him. The warmth settled around him further with a sigh of its own.

 

He froze, eyes snapping open. Stared straight at a column of skin directly in front of his face--a neck--feeling a scratch of stubble against his forehead as puffs of breath continued to fan his hair.

 

He craned his head, following the stubble and patch of a beard--blonde--so he could take in the sight of the face they belonged to.

 

Liam.

 

He was in Liam’s arms, in his bed (it was all starting to come back to him now), and--he looked down in mortified curiosity--luckily, both still fully clothed (though he was slightly disappointed at that, which he wasn’t going to delve into right now; not when they were currently so physically close).

 

But...yea, that was right… They had been in the vault last night. Vault 111, where Liam had taken MacCready to “meet” his late wife. All so he could indirectly profess his feelings.

 

_ “I think I’m falling in love again…” _

 

The sniper felt his face flush as his heart beat just a bit harder at the memory.

 

He’d hoped for a positive response to him confessing that he liked the blonde--possibly more, though he hadn’t gotten himself to say those words yet. At least an explanation for those kisses they had shared. Some affirmation of what they meant. But he hadn’t expected Liam to go beyond expressing mere attraction.

 

Although…

 

MacCready studied those lax features, still relaxed in sleep so close to his own.

 

...maybe he wasn’t so surprised after all.

 

A weight had lifted from his heart, replaced with something warm and inviting and...my god, could his thoughts get any cheesier?

 

He barely held back a snort, not wanting to disturb the slumbering blonde. He didn’t think he’d ever seen Liam look so peaceful before--despite having seen him sleep multiple times when they took turns keeping watch on the road--and he didn’t want it to end just yet.

 

Besides, this was...nice. Being here. Wrapped in each others’ arms. Nothing but the quiet of early morning and the dim blue of light barely breaking into dawn. Nothing important grabbing his attention--aside from the blonde in front of him. Nothing pressing or urgent to attend to--unless Preston came barging in, needing to flag down Liam for some important Minutemen matter that required their General.

 

Just...this moment.

 

MacCready dropped his head back down, another sigh of contentment slipping free as he wound his arms further around Liam. As he dozed again, he swore he felt Liam curl further around him as well.

 

And to think, he’d been unsure of taking up Liam’s suggestion of spending the night here instead of in the bunk house, even with his logical point of “it would be less crowded”.

 

Except--his eyes peeled open again--people would probably talk.

 

Not that they wouldn’t already be talking if they’d seen him approach the house at the beginning of the night and then seen Liam and him walk off towards the vault (hand in hand), only to come back (also hand in hand) walking much closer together…

 

…

 

Eh, screw it.

 

He buried his face against Liam’s neck.

 

Let them talk.

 

\---

 

The day that followed was rather...ordinary, to say the least.

 

But also not.

 

Nothing had really changed between Liam and MacCready

 

But  _ everything  _ had changed between Liam and MacCready.

 

They still acknowledged each other in passing. MacCready would glance over from his continued work on the power armor at hearing the blonde’s footsteps pass; Liam would in turn nod as he continued making his rounds of everyone in Sanctuary.

 

But they’d keep watching each other, only dropping their gazes when the distance grew too great.

 

They’d join the idle chatter that went with lunchtime, remarking on things as they came up. Liam mostly reporting on the settlements he had visited during his time away and their progress; MacCready tossing in a few details that Liam had missed in his report.

 

But they’d watch intently as the other spoke, a hint of a smile lingering and just barely held back.

 

Then MacCready would return to the power armor, and Liam would head for the weapons bench, both putting skills they had learned or brushed up on to use.

 

But they’d keep looking at each other when they thought the other wasn’t noticing. Or if they got caught and happened to look over at the same time, the two would look surprised, nervously smile as a chuckle broke free, and then return to their task. But only after a few more glances and smiles at each other.

 

Dinner was a copy of lunch, but with less reports and more insane adventures that had everyone questioning the truth of them. Had the two  _ really _ taken out a deathclaw?  _ Really _ gone to that robot shopping mall that everyone knew to avoid? Dodged fire at Saugus? Literally dodged mini nukes flung by Gunners? Gone into a haunted (as everyone assumed by the way it was described) quarry (which, by the way, was never to be approached; it was hopefully caved in anyway)? Faced yet  _ another _ deathclaw, this time in that old museum out by Salem and nearly lost their lives? And then, if  _ that _ wasn’t enough, went and returned a stolen deathclaw egg to  _ another _ deathclaw,  _ didn’t _ kill it, yet managed to walk away unscathed?

 

And all that was before they’d gone near the Brotherhood’s current neighborhood and blown up a race track. Preston had put a stop to the stories by that point, under much protest and even more reluctance, noting how late it was getting. Though he did hint--with a hopeful gleam to his eyes--that perhaps there would be a continuation to the tales tomorrow?

 

The daring duo of said stories had merely smirked at each other meaningfully, something unspoken passing between them. Then Liam had turned back to the rest of the group and said, “I’m sure we’ll have even more stories to share after the next time we head out.”

 

Sturges believed it. He was also certain of his suspicions by now.

 

Something had definitely changed between Liam and MacCready.

 

And it was about damn time.

 

\---

 

“I get the feeling they know.”

 

The two of them were crossing the street to Liam’s house, the dark of dusk licking at their boots hinting that it was almost time to turn in.

 

MacCready still felt weird about approaching the blonde’s house. It wasn’t that he wasn’t welcome. Hell, Codsworth had seemed chipper and casual enough about his stepping out from Liam’s bedroom that morning, offering to make them breakfast. (And my god, where had he gotten  _ coffee _ ? And brewed it to perfection! The sniper had only ever drank coffee out of necessity, the bitterness of the brew he’d manage to scrounge up never failing to make him wonder how people started their days on this stuff. Codsworth may have made him a believer. Maybe even a convert. ...at least while in Sanctuary.)

 

He still couldn’t help feeling...weird about it, though. No one else came this way. Not really. Though he might’ve noticed that former Vault-Tec ghoul casting a wary (but curious) look the house’s way from time to time. He’d signed Liam up for the vault. Did he feel guilty? A sad sort of happiness at there being someone who had known him from before? Either way, he never approached the building.

 

MacCready swore he felt eyes on his back. Not the itch of “threat”, but a…he wasn’t sure of the word. Liam was right, though.

 

“Yea...I got that feeling, too.” He glanced back over his shoulder as they reached the door, and of course he couldn’t see anyone looking. That “itch” had disappeared as well.

 

“Sturges especially.”

 

MacCready blinked, turning his attention back to Liam, hesitating for just a second before finally crossing the threshold to keep following. “I...maybe?” was his intelligent answer. Not wanting to leave it at that--but of course his face was heating up anyway--he continued. “I mean...I did see him watching us.” Yep, definitely blushing. Damn it. “But no more than anyone else really. And who wouldn’t have been staring at those stories we were telling? Hell,  _ I _ would’ve been staring, and I was there!” He paused for a second. “...but now that you mention it, he was around a bit more than the others today. He’s...the mechanic, right? And the workbench is over at the main house, and I was working on that old clunker over there with him practically hovering over my shoulder half the time, so...maybe?” Great. Now he was rambling.

 

He thought he saw the corner of Liam’s mouth quirk into a smirk, quickly smothered. MacCready was glad he wasn’t wearing that stupid mask; he never would’ve caught that. But the smirk must mean he’d caught on to the sniper’s rambling. Because of course he would; Liam wasn’t as perceptive about their surroundings, but he was always good at reading people. Hence him pointing out Sturges.

 

Luckily, he didn’t point out the rambling, instead continuing their conversation. “Preston probably knows, too. He’s more clever than he lets on; good at seeing through the masks people wear.” He smiled, apparently amused at his clever metaphor. “Then there’s the Longs and the Vault-Tec rep (we really need to come up with a name for that guy)... I feel like they might know on some level as well. But…” He turned towards the sniper, and this time he  _ was _ smirking, quite obviously. “If they didn’t suspect something already, I’d be worried if they didn’t by now. Especially with you following me in here.”

 

Um.

 

Crap.

 

MacCready’s eyes widened. “I-- If I wasn’t supposed to, I can--”

 

Liam chuckled affectionately, cutting him off. “Mac. Relax. I’m glad you’re here.

 

“Besides, I like having you with me.” And then he was smirking amusedly, more at himself than anything as they both realized those were the exact words he’d spoken the other day back at the race track.

 

“Well…” MacCready hesitated, the words coming to him almost too cheesy to leave his mouth, but still fighting free anyway. “I like...being with you, too.” Could his face get any more red? Jeez. It was like he was a teenager all over again, stumbling around his first crush! Which...in a way, he was. He’d noticed other guys before; knew he was attracted to them about as much as women...but there hadn’t been a chance--a time or place to act. Not after Lucy...and not with Duncan needing him...

 

The smirk slowly melted off Liam’s face, morphing into a concerned frown. Yea, he was very glad for the lack of gas mask. “Everything alright?”

 

MacCready blinked.

 

Shi--crap. His thoughts had started to turn toward the negative, hadn’t they? And of course they’d reflected on his face where Liam could read them.

 

“Yea. Just...wondering how we got here I guess.”

 

Liam simply raised a brow, glanced around a bit, then looked back at him with a curious expression on his face. “I’m pretty sure we walked through the door, Mac.”

 

…

 

Was he serious?

 

No, wait. MacCready could see Liam’s lips twitching the slightest bit, the corners quivering upwards almost imperceptibly.

 

The sniper snorted. “Ok, smartass.” Did that count as a swear? He wasn’t sure. Duncan forgive him anyway; that one needed to slip.

 

The blonde grinned, and MacCready’s heart jumped at how it made those gray-blue eyes light up.

 

Still grinning a bit, Liam jerked his chin over his shoulder, gesturing towards the hallway. “Come on. What do you say we turn in? I wanna get an early start tomorrow.”

 

Just like last night, the sniper felt his heart beat harder with anticipation as he followed the blonde down the hall. Were they... _ just _ going to sleep this time? Or was something else going to--

 

Keeping his mind from straying there so he wouldn’t make a nervous fool of himself, MacCready forced himself to focus on what Liam had remarked on. “Why? What are we doing tomorrow?” Was he being too forward, automatically assuming he would be joining Liam? (As if sharing his bed wasn’t being forward…)

 

“Nothing big.” Apparently it was ok he’d assumed, since Liam made no remark on it. “I just wanna take another look around Concord. See if there’s anything useful I missed.”

 

Which meant collecting more junk. MacCready wrinkled his nose. “You’re going to make me haul around a bunch of crap, aren’t you...”

 

“It would only be from there to here. Not that far.” Well, that confirmed it. He wasn’t looking forward to tomorrow (even if it did mean more time with Liam and  _ my god could he sound any more lovesick _ ).

 

There was a pause as Liam turned into the bedroom, broken when he smirked back at the sniper. “Besides, I’m mostly looking for stuff to help on that power armor of yours, so most of it is  _ your _ crap anyway.”

 

MacCready scowled, automatically replying, “I didn’t ask for your help,” and immediately regretting his harsh tone.

 

Liam just looked at him. “I know.”

 

Then he stepped closer, and MacCready thought,  _ This is it _ , tensing up as Liam’s arm drew around him.

 

“But I don’t want to make you do  _ all _ that work on your own…”

 

And he was pulled into a kiss.

 

More of a peck, really. A soft pressing of lips. But enough to leave his head reeling as Liam stayed closed, moving so his mouth was next to the sniper’s ear.

 

“Why are you so tense anyway?”

 

“Well, uhh…” There his face went turning red again. “Weren’t we...going to…?”

 

“‘To…’?”

 

“I mean... _ do _ ...anything?” Now his ears were joining in. It was starting to make him dizzy.

 

Liam pulled back enough to see his face, only to smile softly at him. “Mac…” An affectionate laugh colored the words as he shook his head a bit. “I’m not going to force you to do anything you’re not ready to.”

 

“But...I thought we might…” He couldn’t even form the thought, let alone the words.

 

Again, Liam simply smiled patiently. “Maybe I just feel like kissing you.”

 

Kissing.

 

Yea.

 

He could do that.

 

Definitely.

 

“So...wanna try that again?”

 

Yea.

 

He did.

 

…

 

He should probably give an actual answer instead of just the ones in his head.

 

Not trusting his voice, MacCready simply nodded, holding the blonde’s gaze. Liam just repeated that patient smile of his, bringing his face closer again.

 

\---

 

“This is actually where I got Codsworth…”

 

Concord was still as quiet as the last time they had passed through it.

 

And since its last extermination of raiders.

 

They seemed to pop up every now and then; either as remnants of the gang Liam had helped Preston be rid of, or some individuals from a different group scoping out some possible new territory.

 

Well, there would be none of that. Not in this neighborhood.

 

Liam still kept up his guard as they scavenged the remains of the still-standing buildings. It was good to have backup, even in a mostly quiet place like this since you never knew when something could reappear.

 

He also might not have wanted to travel without MacCready by his side. But he wouldn’t admit that out loud.

 

At least not to the others. To  _ MacCready _ , on the other hand…

 

Speaking of the sniper, he had paused his shuffling through countless boxes (with a scowl on his face, of course) to glance Liam’s way. The scowl still remained, but to a lesser extent as a curious frown fought to take its place. He seemed to be waiting for the blonde to continue.

 

Taking the hint, Liam gestured vaguely around the old corner hardware store they were in, the Museum of Freedom just as visible through its broken windows. If he squinted, he could probably see where the deathclaw had thrown him to the ground, power armor and all, leaving an angry skidmark on the pavement. It had only avoided killing him due to a few laser zaps from Preston distracting it just enough for Liam to level the (relatively) pathetic 10 mil pistol he’d found at its face and empty its clip.

 

But that wasn’t the particular memory he was planning to talk about now. Shaking it off, he continued from his previous comment. “This store. They had just gotten a shipment of Handys in, and there’d been all this advertising about how they were ‘handy for the household’ and all that…” He nudged one of the leftover boxes still in the shop, empty of its contents. “It wasn’t even originally my idea to get one. Not even Nora’s idea either…” he trailed off, going quiet as more memories threatened to surface.

 

MacCready said nothing. Didn’t even continue his searching. Just waited for when Liam was ready to keep speaking.

 

Finally, Liam released a breath, finding his voice again. “But we finally decided ‘what the hell’. Could be...handy,” he smirked at the unintended pun, noting the slight grimace from the sniper, “to have one around. Help out around the house. And since...Nora was pregnant at the time, it...well, it just made sense.”

 

Another silence followed, MacCready continuing to watch Liam once the blonde had finished his reminiscing.

 

Finally, the sniper broke it with a browraise. “There a moral to this story?”

 

“Um…” Liam blinked. “No. Just felt like sharing I guess.” He smiled sheepishly around the old dusty shop. “Sometimes places like these bring back the most random memories, y’know?”

 

MacCready hummed in response. Neither bored nor thoughtful. “At least they’re good memories…” Liam thought he heard him mutter.

 

The blonde frowned at that, not sure if he should comment or not. They were obviously heavy words, laced with even more heavy thoughts. But since they were said so quietly, he chose to let them slip for now. He knew the sniper would come around eventually if something was bothering him.

 

So instead, Liam continued, “But I can say I don’t regret buying Codsworth. Not one bit. He became… Well, we stopped thinking of him as a robot, or at least I started to, and...he became more like a live-in relative of some sort.” He shook his head. “But more than that. A good friend. He’s family.” He turned to look directly at the sniper, making sure he had his attention before he continued, letting a smile cross his face. “And in a way, you’re family now, too.” MacCready looked shocked at that, eyes widening marginally--and was that a flush to his cheeks? Oh man, it was making him look too cute again. Liam suddenly wanted to pull him into a kiss. But now was not the right time.

 

Tamping down the feeling--with much reluctance--Liam nodded to the pile of useful scraps that had collected between the two of them in the middle of the room. “Ok, I think we’ve got enough here to work with. What do you say we head back and see what we’ve got?”

 

MacCready stared for another second...before he seemed to start and stutter out an, “Um. Right, sure.”

 

Yep. Too adorable.

 

\---

 

The rest of the day found the sniper being unintentionally (or was it intentionally?) distracting once again, working way too hard on the power armor and working up a sweat in his t-shirt with the torn-off sleeves.

 

Liam almost gave up on what he was working on to enjoy the show. It wasn’t like everyone in the settlement hadn’t figured them out by now.

 

But no. He had his own work to do. Such as getting this scrap metal into the right shape. Making sure it was strong enough for his purposes and held together to hold as much weight as possible…

 

He felt MacCready glancing over at him from time to time in curiosity. That was making it harder to concentrate, but Liam summoned all of his willpower to keep working.

 

Hell, maybe all his hard work was distracting the sniper as well.

 

_ Now there’s a nice thought. _

 

Ok. No. Not the time.

 

_ There’s always later… _

 

Except he wasn’t going to push him into anything. Not unless he expressed interest in it-- _ actual _ interest, he mentally interjected before that part of his mind could chime in again. Not just “interest” that came from expectation.

 

Liam wasn’t sure how relationships in the wasteland worked, but if it was about jumping right into sex, then...well, he could understand  _ why _ someone might jump right into that; you never knew when your life could end...but no. He wasn’t going to do that. Not his style. He liked to get to know a person first. Learn more about them. And yes, you could argue he knew a lot about the sniper already. Knew where he came from, knew of his past relations (for the most part), knew of his family (and even helped out with that). And had given information of himself in turn--shown his quirks and oddities; how he handled things.

 

Not to mention the mutual attraction.

 

Liam nearly cleared his throat, trying to press back those thoughts...and maybe that wasn’t the best phrasing. Damn it.

 

…

 

It was a good thing what he was working on was pretty simple, or he might have slipped up somewhere in his lax attention and severed a thumb off or something.

 

Maybe an important something.

 

_ Brain, not helping. _

 

At least it was starting to take shape.

 

The sounds of hammering and shifting metal hadn’t picked up again behind him.

 

Curious--and somewhat hoping to catch the sniper off guard--Liam glanced back over his shoulder. And sure enough, he caught MacCready staring for a split second before he tried--and failed--not to freak out at getting caught and spun back to the scuffed pieces of metal he had been buffing. Liam smirked, made no comment of the sniper’s very red cheeks and ears, and went back to his own work, feeling satisfied.

 

_ Don’t even start, brain. _

 

He was wrestling with one of the assembled arms, propping it up so he could bolt it into place, when the sniper finally broke the rhythm of metal. “What, ah...are you making?”

 

He shot MacCready a quick look again, managing to catch the faintest hint of red still on his cheeks (heh), but quickly turned his attention back to the stubborn metal. He was fighting gravity, and he really didn’t want to lose right now. He grunted, getting out, “Power armor stand.”

 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the sniper rise up from his crouch, taking a step closer. “Hey, do you need help with--”

 

“Nah,” he grunted again. “I got it...I think…oh shit--” His foot slipped, it started to topple, it was going to land on him, and while it wouldn’t kill him, it would hurt like a bit--

 

Another set of arms braced against the metal, breath huffing heavily by his ear.

 

MacCready. How had he moved so fast?

 

Not wanting to waste the sniper’s effort, Liam regained his footing, putting his shoulder into it. Together, they got the assembled metal beam to stay upright so Liam could finally bolt it into place. They both stepped back.

 

It held.

 

The blonde heaved a rush of breath, rubbing at one of his shoulders. “Damn. I thought I had that. Thanks.”

 

“Heh. Yea, it’s...yea. No problem.”

 

He had expected some sort of comeback. A joke or teasing remark at his expense. Liam dropped his hand from his shoulder, turning towards the sniper.

 

Who was still standing pretty close.  _ Very _ close. So close that he could feel his body heat. See all the signs of exertion working on that power armor had caused. The way his shirt clung to him from sweat. His hair disheveled. Lips slightly parted as they drew in breath. Rich blue eyes staring into his own. Back to those lips.

 

Lips he was currently staring at.

 

Drawing nearer to.

 

Drawing closer to his own.

 

He could practically taste the sniper’s breath.

 

They drew back before their lips could brush, as the sound of footsteps drew nearer. The footsteps continued on, their owner never making an appearance. But the spell was already broken. They looked at each other with wide eyes. MacCready shuffled his feet awkwardly as Liam rubbed at the back of his neck.

 

“So um--”

 

“I er--”

 

They both stopped, staring at each other with amused half-smiles. Sheepishly, the blonde gestured for the sniper to continue.

 

Not meeting his eyes, he took the cue, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. “I should...probably get back to this. Made good progress on the legs. Shouldn’t take much more now.”

 

“Ah, really?” Liam’s response was just as awkward. “That’s good to hear. This thing--” he jerked his chin as the half-complete stand that had tried to kill him. “--is probably going to take a bit longer. But...I should probably stop for the day. Get dinner sorted. Maybe grab a shower first.”

 

“Right. Sounds...good.”

 

“So...yes. I’ll...see you at dinner then.”

 

“Right. Yea. Seeya then.”

 

Liam nodded, spinning on his heels and making a hasty retreat as he crossed the street.

 

What the hell was wrong with him? He was almost tempted to try drowning himself in the shower if only to avoid facing anyone at dinner. And what the hell had  _ that _ been??

 

That _ would be what you’d call a “sign of interest” _ , his brain happily supplied.

 

_ Oh, shut up _ , was his eloquent response.

 

His brain supplied no further remark, though he couldn’t help feeling a sense of smugness from it.

 

He really was going mad…

 

One thing was for certain, though. The tension building between him and MacCready? It was bound to snap. Sooner or later.

 

His bets were on “sooner”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooo boy. You could cut that tension with a knife.  
> I don't even know if it's going anywhere (or yet), so all of this is as much a surprise for me as it is for you. ='D
> 
> By the way, I got asked what Liam looks like, so [here's the screenshot I have up](https://i.imgur.com/bslRFwd.jpg) for anyone curious.


	69. Can't Fight This Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They were bound to get here eventually.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So um. My friend who "betas" when she can pointed out something that I had already thought of. Which I thought was great, because it meant someone else noticed how perfect it was, too. Basically, go listen to REO Speedwagon's "Can't Fight This Feeling" and _tell me_ that song isn't Liam and Mac.
> 
> Enjoy this extra long chapter that I couldn't bear to cut shorter. 8D

To say dinner that night was awkward would be an understatement.

 

There was the usual conversation, yes, but mixed in with a certain unease. Some avoidance, if you will.

 

Particularly between Liam and MacCready.

 

The two hardly looked each others’ way, and when they did, it was so brief, you could miss it if you blinked.

 

Frankly, it was driving Sturges crazy. He had half a mind to seek out the most intact closet in this settlement, install a lock on it if it didn’t have one, and shove the two into it.

 

He didn’t even know  _ what _ the problem was. He swore the two couldn’t keep their eyes off of each other earlier that day (he may have peeked in at what they were doing from time to time). The tension had been...rather palpable between the two. Rather heated, if you will.

 

Ahem.

 

But now they seemed to have backed completely off? What happened?

 

Rejection? That didn’t seem very likely since he was sure there had been  _ mutual _ interest between the pair.

 

Lack of compatibility? That also seemed unlikely. “Opposites attract”, as they say, and they had been travelling together for enough time that that shouldn’t be an issue. If they didn’t click as a team, they wouldn’t click as anything more. So what could it be…

 

Maybe they hadn’t even talked to each other yet, and this was just them both being shy and unsure about how to approach the other! In which case, that closet idea seemed tempting. Maybe he could get Preston’s opinion on it…

 

Except the Minuteman was in a discussion with their General, and pulling his attention over might make the General suspicious, especially since he was one of the main subjects of this very issue. Damn.

 

\---

 

Sturges was staring.

 

He was doing a very poor job of pretending he was  _ not _ staring.

 

Oh, he was making an effort, all right. Looking away enough so it wouldn’t be obvious to everyone else (for the most part). Could be taken as him listening in on conversations, waiting for the right moment to jump in.

 

But he was still staring.

 

Staring as much as MacCready was  _ not _ staring.

 

Or...he assumed anyway. It wasn’t like Liam had glanced the sniper’s way during the whole duration of the meal of radstag and steamed vegetables. He hadn’t felt those deep blue eyes linger his way the whole time. Not since earlier that afternoon, when the sun was no longer beating down as harshly, but still warm enough to make a difference. Especially when working as hard as the sniper had been, building up a sweat as he swung that hammer, lithe muscles shifting under that shirt as he scrubbed away at rust--

 

_ Ok stop right there. _

 

Liam glanced around as subtly as he could manage, hoping no one had miraculously gained the ability to read minds. Luckily, Preston hadn’t seemed to notice his lapse in attention, continuing on about one of their potential settlements.

 

“--managed to break down most of the cars to use as building material, so that will be handy. But the main concern is that pool of water in the middle. With those toxic waste barrels.”

 

The blonde’s brows hitched. “Oh, right. Those. No one’s gone near them I hope.”

 

“No one’s dared to. We aren’t even entirely sure they’re ‘active’ or not. In order to find out, we’ll need to get closer, but without knowing how dangerous they are…”

 

Liam’s brow furrowed. “Yea, I hear you. And you can’t just pop some Rad-x and hope for the best. Most barrels I’ve come across give off more radiation than a whole bottle of tablets will protect you from.”

 

Preston nodded. “Exactly. Which is why I’m thinking we need to find some hazmat suits.”

 

Now there was a plan. “Any idea where to look?”

 

“We have a few ideas, but nothing’s panned up yet. I’ll let you know if there’s any leads, General.”

 

He nodded.

 

“In the meantime,” the Minuteman changed the subject, a smile brightening up his eyes, “you’ll be happy to know those turrets you set up at Tenpines have been working wonders. Already stopped a few raiders in their tracks. We won’t know if they’re effective against something as big as, say, super mutants yet, but you’ve definitely given those folks some peace of mind.”

 

Liam smiled in return. “Glad to hear it. Any word from our new friends over at Greentop?”

 

“Ah, yes.” Preston gently slapped his fist into the opposite palm, his memory apparently being jogged. “They sent over a shipment of some tatos as thanks for your help with those raiders. Apparently they were impressed with how quickly you got it done.”

 

Liam ducked his head a bit sheepishly. “It wasn’t  _ that _ quickly…” And they’d been a bit sidetracked by other things. Such as Gunners, Forged...retrieving a cure for MacCready’s son from an old medical facility that had been hellbent on trying to prevent them from reaching the...Prevent (that pun was so not intended!) by any means…

 

But...maybe a few days  _ was _ considered fast. Or those people had never gotten help before, and just the fact that they had gotten some without any true conditions had been impressive enough for them.

 

“Still,” Preston continued, that bright smile still on his face, “they were grateful. I’m also thinking of sending Sturges out there with a few of our new recruits in a few days. Get them some more defenses built. And I’m sure you could use a break from making appearances at all those settlements for awhile.” He smirked.

 

…

 

Wait.

 

_ Smirked? _

 

Since when did Preston Garvey  _ smirk _ ? And at  _ him _ ?

 

It took all of Liam’s willpower not to lean away with the most weirded out expression he could muster. That wasn’t just a smirk. That was a  _ knowing _ smirk. And...had he glanced over at--

 

Ok, that confirmed it. Preston definitely knew. And that was a little more than he could take right now.

 

Dinner time over.

 

Liam pushed back from the table to stand. “Well, folks.” He clapped his hands together. “Pleasant as this night has been, I think I might go turn in now.” He nodded to the group in general, trying not to make eye contact with Preston, and attempting even more not to linger on MacCready’s gaze that still wasn’t quite facing him. “See you all in the morning.” With that, he picked up his empty plate and deposited it in the sink to soak on his way out.

 

He swore he felt two sets of eyes boring into his back for a split second before both turned away.

 

\---

 

Seeing Liam retreat like that was an odd feeling.

 

Like being rejected in a way.

 

...not that he hadn’t been avoiding him since that afternoon as well. Just...he had his reasons.

 

It had been really difficult not to look Liam’s way. But he felt like if he did, and Liam happened to glance over at the same time, he might get drawn into his gaze, lost in those blue-gray orbs and not been able to look away and--

 

_ That  _ would’ve drawn some attention. Not that there...wasn’t some already.

 

Damn Sturges being so perceptive. Was it a…“guy who works with junk” thing?

 

Yes, that analogy (or whatever it was) had sucked, but to be fair, he had wanted to include Liam in there, too. So there.

 

He felt like he should...follow Liam.

 

…

 

Did he want to follow?

 

…

 

Yes. Yes he did.

 

But did he want the rest of these guys to  _ see  _ him follow?

 

Not...really.

 

_ Except they saw you go over there for the past few nights. _

 

_ That was...different. _

 

_ ‘Different’ how? Because if you recall, you spent both of those nights at his house. In his bed. _

 

_ Well, yea, but-- _

 

_ This isn’t any different, is it. _

 

_...no. _

 

_ It doesn’t  _ need _ to be any different if you don’t want it to. _

 

_ That’s...true, yea… _

 

_ So what are you worried about? They already know you spend time with Liam and hang out at his house and have spent the night. _

 

Those were some...good points. And...they had to know by now, yes, yet no one had said anything or even teased the two of them about it, or even glanced his way in a disgusted manner or anything of the sort really…

 

It was just Sturges (and maybe Preston?) who gave off any indication of anything. And mostly all he did was look at the two of them curiously. Maybe expectantly. Like he wondered why they weren’t making a move when it was so obvious.

 

...honestly, this whole avoiding thing just to avoid falling further into the unknown was getting silly. He didn’t want to avoid Liam. Far from it. It was just his--he held back the blush--lack of experience holding him back. Hell, that was probably what was holding Liam back, too. Not lack of experience, but knowing of MacCready’s limited experience and how it was making him unsure of...how to handle things.

 

Yea, these were awkward thoughts to be having at the dinner table.

 

He glanced around the room, finally making up his mind.

 

\---

 

Sturges had been trying to figure out how to communicate with Preston via eye signals that they should work on those two finally acting on their feelings because “it’s obvious damn it just go for it!”

 

...until MacCready finally stood up from his own seat, proclaimed he was heading to bed, and walked straight out the door.

 

…

 

_ Hold on a second there… _

 

There was a collective silence around the table.

 

Before everyone scrambled from their seats to try to be the first one to look out the door.

 

Sturges nearly tripped over himself, in the end being beat out by Marcy and the Vault-Tec rep of all people! So he used his greater height to his advantage, leaning out to look over their heads.

 

In time to see, for the first time in Sanctuary’s history of becoming a settlement, the front door to Liam’s house, in all its bright orange pre-war glory, close firmly shut.

 

The silence stretched on.

 

Until it was broken by one Marcy Long. “I swear, if those two fuck each others’ brains out, I’m going to lock them up in a damn closet.”

 

Jun had the decency to look horrified. “Marcy!”

 

“Oh, hush Jun. You were thinking the same thing and you know it.”

 

To this, Jun did not reply.

 

The silence picked up where it had left off.

 

“Well…” Preston chuckled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the table. “At least this means they’re no longer avoiding each other.”

 

\---

 

Liam couldn’t believe he had done that.

 

Getting freaked out at one of your closest friends (who was pretty much a saint at that) figuring out that you and another guy had feelings for each other? What was he,  _ twelve _ ??

 

...he may have also felt bad for just abandoning MacCready like that.

 

It was doubtful he’d see the sniper for the rest of the night. Not with how they’d been avoiding each other since that (almost hot) awkward moment by the workbenches. He just...wasn’t entirely sure how to act around him. He assumed MacCready hadn’t been in a relationship with another guy before; not with how he’d freaked out at just assuming they were going to do something more the other night.

 

Still. It was...nice having him near. Sitting around chatting. Sitting around doing nothing. Glancing over as he worked within the same space where either could break the cacophony of tools if they wanted to, but were content to just be in the same area as each other.

 

Waking up in the same bed as each other.

 

The first morning had been a bit disorienting, Liam having spent so many nights alone since that dreadful day that changed his life. But it wasn’t a bad disorienting. Just different. A good different. And it proved to be a good different the next morning as well. Something he could get used to.

 

He didn’t want that to end.

 

Which is why he planned to sneak over to the bunkhouse or wherever else MacCready was planning to spend the night to talk to him about today and--

 

A set of footsteps crossed the threshold of his house.

 

Liam jumped, turning at the sound of the front door being closed.

 

There stood MacCready.

 

He blinked.

 

A short silence passed as the two just looked at each other, not saying a word. It was getting rather uncomfortable--this impromptu staring match--when the sniper finally broke the silence.

 

“Hey,” was all he said, so quietly Liam could’ve sworn he imagined it.

 

He blinked again, just barely managing to get out a, “Hey,” in response as he suddenly felt tongue-tied.

 

What should he say?

 

_ Should _ he say anything? MacCready seemed like he was waiting for the blonde to speak. Then again, he could be trying to figure out what to say himself. All Liam knew was this was awkward and he was starting to get worried and that whatever he said might screw this up and--

 

_ Ok, breathe. Just. Breathe. He’s not here to bite your head off...I think. And if he wanted to, he probably would have by now. So just...take a deep breath, relax, and explain why you’ve been avoiding-- _

 

He hadn’t exactly been  _ avoiding _ per se--

 

_ You were avoiding him. And yes, he was avoiding you, too. But don’t blame that on him. You could’ve done something just as much as he could’ve. Besides, you were the one who left the dinner table first. _

 

He tried not to wince at that, as it was a good point.

 

_ Just...start talking. He’s starting to get worried at how silent you’re being. See him shuffling? Probably thinks coming here might’ve been a mistake. We can’t have that. _

 

They definitely couldn’t.

 

After a grueling moment, Liam finally parted his lips to speak. “So, um…” He nearly winced as his voice cracked a bit from nerves. Ignoring it, he pressed on, MacCready’s deep blue eyes moving to and not leaving his own. Just seeing those eyes challenged him not to get lost in them just as much as they motivated him to continue on. “I...wanted to apologize for how weird I’ve been today. I just...wasn’t sure what to say after...before. By the power armor stand.” As if he needed to clarify the ‘before’. “I’m not really...sure how to handle myself around you.” Liam brought up a hand to rub at the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks begin to darken. “Which actually isn’t really something I’m used to.” He chuckled a bit at himself, cutting it off as he dropped his hand again, a frown taking over his face. MacCready just continued to watch him, taking in his words.

 

In a way, this felt like the other night, when MacCready had stepped in here for the first time and had just started spilling his heart. Only this time, it was the reverse. Liam stumbling over his words as he got out his feelings to the sniper. Huh. He pressed on.

 

“I don’t want to accidentally push you away by going too far. Doing something you’re not...ready to do. Granted, completely avoiding you today was a stupid move, and I’m sorry about that...

 

“But I like where we are now. And if that’s where we stay, I’m perfectly fine with that. Just having you near is...all I really need.” He smiled sheepishly at the words that bordered on just too corny, noting the hint of red that began dusting the sniper’s face. “I just...don’t want us drifting apart any time soon. Or at all really. If--” His eyes widened suddenly as a wash of panic came over him. “If you’re ok with that, that is! Like I said, I don’t want to force you into anything you’re not comfortable with.” Shit, he hadn’t stumbled over his words this much in years.

 

And he really hoped he hadn’t just screwed things up. Words usually came easy to him, but for some reason, tonight was just not his night. Now he just...needed to see how the sniper would respond.

 

…

 

Did he mention he hoped he hadn’t screwed up?

 

\---

 

MacCready just stared, listening silently as Liam struggled his way through his words.

 

He couldn’t take Liam stumbling like that. It wasn’t him. Not the silver tongue he knew. Which meant...something he couldn’t put into words, ironically enough.

 

As endearing as it was hearing the blonde spill his heart out, there was only so much he could take standing this far away.

 

Especially if he was going to say things like  _ that _ .

 

_ “I don’t want us drifting apart any time soon. Or at all.” _

 

Shit. (Duncan forgive him.)

 

For the first time in their relationship--and his heart lurched at the concept of referring to it as one; something long-term and possibly permanent--MacCready was the one to take those steps forward.

 

And pull Liam into a kiss.

 

Those lips gasped against his. He allowed himself to press in closer, taking in the warmth that constantly seemed to emanate off of the blonde.

 

A hand threaded its way into his hair as the kiss deepened, the air growing heavier around them. A sound escaped one of their throats. He wasn’t sure who from.

 

But did it even matter?

 

...

 

No. Not really.

 

Only this moment right now mattered. And those lips molding against his.

 

He shivered as a tongue brushed against his mouth, Liam pulling back a second later, only to rest his forehead against MacCready’s, his hot breath mingling with the sniper’s.

 

“Not…” he began, soundless, well, breathless. As if he’d run a mile. “Not quite the response I expected. But I’ll take it.” A smirk lifted the corners of his eyes.

 

“Maybe I felt like being sneaky for once…” Liam wasn’t the only one out of breath.

 

Liam chuckled, brushing a hand along MacCready’s cheek. “Careful. That’s usually my job.”

 

“I’m a fast learner.”

 

“I can tell…” was breathed against his lips before they were claimed in another kiss.

 

This time he knew where that short whining sound had come from.

 

It should probably embarrass him...but for some reason, it didn’t. What might have helped was how Liam seemed to groan in response, pulling him in even closer, fingers threading messily through his hair (threatening to knock off his hat, but it would be a willing sacrifice) as the other pressed against his lower back.

 

...and caused...something  _ else _ to press against him…

 

_ Was that…? _

 

_...it was, wasn’t it. _

 

Yea. That was definitely a bulge. Against his lower stomach. Not too far from his hips actually.

 

As he made that realization, MacCready felt himself twitch in response, only now noticing how his pants had started to tighten. He almost pulled back at that, the realization nearly too much for him to take.

 

Then Liam’s tongue brushed against his lips again, causing him to gasp, hips lurching forward as that wet appendage slipped into his mouth to stroke against his own.

 

Was it getting hot in here?

 

He swore Liam made a sound of approval as his hand started drawing nonsensical patterns on the sniper’s back.

 

MacCready wasn’t really sure what to do with his own hands, as distracted as he was by that skillful tongue and...other things down below. He just sort of ended up clutching at the back of Liam’s shirt, grounding himself as much as he was giving them something to do.

 

Then Liam’s hips shifted forward and he nearly dug his nails into that khaki fabric as all the air left him in a rush. He twitched again, interest definitely caught and steadily increasing.

 

But then that amazing tongue slid from his mouth--wait we couldn’t have that--and he nearly chased after it with his own tongue, except Liam pulled away from the kiss completely, leaving him very confused, even more breathless, and just a tad hurt.

 

Until that mouth brushed up close to his ear, the hot breath of whispered words making him shiver. “If this is too much, just say the word.”

 

...what…

 

“We can stop if it’s going too far.”

 

It took a second for the words to register, but...

 

Was he serious?

 

Did he really think MacCready would want to stop? Now?

 

Heck no did he want to stop! Not when they were in the middle of--

 

The more he thought about it, the more he realized just  _ what _ they were in the middle of. And...how far was it going to go anyway? Liam had said...he wouldn’t push it, but...they were already going beyond anything he’d done in years. And were far beyond what he’d ever done with a guy. And…

 

...and what exactly?

 

What was the problem?  _ Was _ there even a problem? Was he bothered by what they were doing? Aside from the obvious physical reaction it had caused… If anything, that should mean he  _ wasn’t _ bothered by what they were doing. That he  _ wanted _ to do...what they were already doing...

 

He must have been quiet for too long, because Liam pulled back from his ear suddenly, that pleasant heat going up the length of MacCready’s body--he blushed--vanishing along with him.

 

No no no, he didn’t want him to pull away! Not yet! ...but…

 

“It’s ok if this is too much.” And Liam sounded so understanding, too! Even as he was catching his breath and obviously straining to keep himself under control when he had an--obvious--erection he was ignoring. “I’m not offended.” He snorted to himself, running a hand through his hair. “In an odd way, it’s kind of a compliment.”

 

...oh no. No way.

 

There was no way they were stopping now.

 

_ No way in hell. _

 

MacCready was beyond caring if this had gone too far. What even was too far? (He ignored the answers his brain came up with as it reminded him of his inexperience.) He wanted this. Wanted to be close to Liam, and no way in hell was he backing down now.

 

(Besides, if he started to freak out, he had Liam’s word that he’d back off, and that was perfect reassurance for the part of his mind that still wasn’t sure.)

 

So he hooked a hand behind the blonde’s neck before he could retreat too far, saw those blue-gray eyes widen with a surprised gasp--quick learner indeed--and dragged that source of warmth right back up against him. They both took a moment to groan at the renewed contact down below. Regaining his composure, MacCready brought his mouth right up to Liam’s ear--the same as he had just done with the sniper--breathing on it just to feel him shiver, and finally whispered right into it,  _ “If you think I want to stop now, you’re crazy.” _

 

\---

 

_ Oh, damn. _

 

Liam couldn’t help the shuddering groan as those words hit his ear.

 

And shot straight to his groin.

 

If anything, he swore he got even harder from MacCready taking control like that, and he was sure the sniper would notice. Even just the thought of his noticing was a turn-on, and it got him wondering. Thinking. Maybe...maybe they could do  _ that _ and...even with MacCready’s lack of experience, it shouldn’t be so out of the realm for him...

 

But no. Maybe another time. He highly doubted he would even last long enough to get to anything like that tonight. Not with how long it had been and how riled up he already was.

 

Except now  _ there _ was an image that would be stuck in his head until it happened.

 

He turned his head, nipping at the sniper’s ear and enjoying the shiver that earned. “Noted. Except, maybe…” He glanced around the room they were in, taking in the multiple windows, a few of which were cracked, the lack of many comfortable places to sit--he really needed to get that old couch in better shape, or at least no longer knocked over on the floor--and the...distinct  _ lack _ of a door leading out to the driveway. Yes, the front door was closed, opposite of the “welcome” leaving it open was supposed to broadcast...but he’d already established that closing it was rather pointless.

 

Assessment made, he continued with his suggestion. “It might be a good idea to relocate. To somewhere more...comfortable.” He looked MacCready right in the eye. “And private. I’m not entirely sure where Codsworth is right now, but I don’t really like the idea of him popping back in when we’re...like this.” He flicked his eyes downward.

 

The sniper blinked. “Right…” Then sudden realization lit up his eyes, as if he’d only now processed the blonde’s words. “ _ Right _ . Yea. That’s...probably a good idea.” And now he was turning bright red, quite the contrast to the confident assertiveness he’d shown earlier. “You lead, I follow, then.”

 

_ Hopefully not with everything… _ Liam smirked, keeping the thought to himself, and jerked his chin in the direction of the hall. “Let’s go then.”

 

\---

 

He wasn’t entirely sure how they made it down the hallway without falling on the their ass-- _ er _ , rear ends.

 

Or faces for that matter.

 

Not with how, once the two of them had melded back together at the sniper’s insistence, neither seemed to want to step more than a few inches apart, stealing kisses as they went down the darkened hallway.

 

His heart was doing weird little somersaults of anticipation long before that door closed behind them and Liam had checked to see if the curtains were drawn to keep away prying eyes from across the street. But there was no time to dwell on it before they were pressed together once again, tongues dueling for dominance and eliciting more of those groans and whines from earlier.

 

The wall dug into his shoulder blades--when had he gotten here?--Liam’s weight bearing upon him to make as much contact as possible. But there were too many layers, his brain screamed. Far too many layers of clothing. But if just this was overwhelming his senses, how crazy would direct skin-to-skin be?

 

As if sensing his uncertainty, Liam paused again--much to his conflicting frustration--but this time he didn’t pull away, keeping his face close as he muttered against MacCready’s lips, “I don’t know how far you’re comfortable going, but...honestly? I don’t think I’ll be able to last very long with how I am right now…”

 

...so he wasn’t sure about going beyond this either. That was oddly reassuring. As much as knowing he could say “stop” and Liam would.

 

MacCready swallowed, gaining control of his voice before he spoke. “So, um…” He still had to fight to get the words out, however. “What do you suggest?”

 

“Well...I don’t want this to end too soon. I’m enjoying it far too much.” He felt a renewed blush to his face at those words, mirroring the flushed appearance of the blonde. “But maybe we could at least get more comfortable.” With that, his leather duster was pushed from his shoulders. Boots were kicked from their feet.

 

Liam pulled him over towards the bed, removing the sniper’s hat as they went and setting it aside...before he smirked suddenly and gravity became a thing as they tumbled in a mass of limbs.

 

This was...unexpected.

 

MacCready blinked, finding his face pressed against Liam’s neck. Pushing himself up on his elbows, he realized two things. One, he was lying atop the blonde, whose hands were resting on his hips. Two, not only was he lying atop the blonde, but he was...

 

His face grew even hotter.

 

...lying atop the blonde and  _ between his spread legs _ . And my god was the heat even more intense than when they’d been standing.

 

One of those hands squeezed at a hip bone to get his attention. He met those concerned eyes looking up at him. “Is this alright? I figured that this way it won’t end too soon, and...well, we can go at whatever pace you like if we do it this way.”

 

Liam was giving him control.

 

Allowing him to set the pace. Go as far as he was comfortable with. Not forcing anything beyond what they’d been doing. And yet...this went beyond what their mere making out had been. This was far closer. Far better.

 

Definitely where he wanted to be right now.

 

Lowering himself down to lie chest to chest with Liam, he gazed into those blue-gray orbs that still watched him, noting how they looked darker than usual, tinted by lust, but tempered by concern. Holding back. Trusting him. MacCready licked his suddenly dry lips, seeing those eyes flick downward to follow the movement and somehow darken even more. (Had Liam started to breath harder at that? Damn if that wasn’t arousing.)He then leaned down to press a kiss to already kiss-swollen lips, drawing a moan as he swiped his tongue across them. Another tongue peeked out to meet his, and another battle ensued.

 

Those hands lifted from his hips to thread through his hair once again.

 

Yea, this was definitely nice.

 

But “nice” wasn’t quite what he was aiming for.

 

Experimentally, MacCready shifted his hips forward.

 

And took pleasure in the low groan it emitted from the blonde, who paused in their tongue-battling. Taking advantage of the distraction, the sniper plunged forward, taking control of the kiss, exploring the hot cavern of Liam’s mouth as his hips helplessly rose up to meet his. Feeling hot breath puff along his face.

 

There was something exhilarating about making Liam come apart like this. Making the mask of control crack. Turning him into a squirming mass overcome by pleasure.

 

It was so exhilarating, that he wanted to keep doing it. Keep causing it. So he thrust his hips forward again. And again.

 

Pretty soon they had a steady rhythm going, the temperature in the room slowly increasing with every movement. Every moan and groan.

 

Those hands grabbed at his hair. Stroked along his back. Mapped out every muscle that flexed. Even grabbed at his ass a few times. Encouraging him to continue. To keep moving. Keep...doing what they were doing.

 

MacCready happily obliged.

 

The pace started to turn frantic, all sense of finesse leaving those kisses behind as they practically devoured each others’ faces. MacCready’s arms were starting to shake, but still, he went on, spurred forward by Liam’s muffled whimpers. Which were starting to increase in volume, drowning out the sniper’s own keening whines.

 

Suddenly, Liam’s face pulled away from his, and he briefly worried if he’d done something wrong, if they should stop, if maybe Liam should take over instead--

 

But then Liam’s hands gripped at MacCready’s shoulders, grounding himself as he arched up against the sniper, head craning back as he gasped out between sporadic breaths, “Shit-- Shit-- I’m gonna--” And it was then MacCready noticed the stuttery motions to his movements. The uncontrolled, instinctive jerking of his hips. The desperate way he tried to get as much contact as possible with as much friction as possible.

 

_ Damn. Hot. _

 

That motion got to him just as much as the extra pressure did.

 

Mouth now free, MacCready dove for the tempting expanse of neck stretched out before him as Liam’s head pressed back into the pillows. He nipped at that weather-tanned skin, eliciting more gasps as he redoubled his efforts, sending Liam into a frenzy.

 

He reached back, drawing up one of Liam’s legs to bring them even more flush together as he nipped and sucked at a spot where neck met shoulder.

 

That finally did it.

 

Fingers tightened against his back to bruising levels--and he was sure to find a few marks there later--as Liam’s breaths reached a staccato of gasps, finally ending on one last swallow of air.

 

MacCready groaned into Liam’s neck as he felt the blonde twitch against him, giving a few stuttering motions of his own before he joined him in going over the edge.

 

\---

 

He didn’t know how long he laid there, panting up at the ceiling as he regained his breath.

 

Another set of breaths puffed against his neck from where MacCready had collapsed, still half on top of him. Not that he minded.

 

Liam turned his head to plant a kiss on the brown-haired head resting on his shoulder, bringing a hand up to rub MacCready’s back. “Damn. That was... _ damn. _ ” Always a good sign when he was rendered speechless.

 

Apparently MacCready thought so, too, his shoulders hitching in a slight chuckle. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

 

“I’m serious, though. Whatever got into you...I liked it. A lot.” If he wasn’t so spent already, he’d probably feel himself twitching in response.

 

The sniper seemed to hide his face further against Liam’s neck, whether in embarrassment at what he’d done or being overwhelmed by praise, he couldn’t say. “I’m not entirely sure what that was either. Glad I could make it good for you, though.” Was that a smile in his voice?

 

Liam felt himself smiling as well. “Well, whatever it was, it was definitely good.” A slight pause as an observation hit him. “I think I may want to go change my pants now, though...”

 

He swore he felt the sniper’s face heating up against his neck. “I’d...go do the same, but…”

 

“Hm?”

 

He waited patiently for him to continue, idly stroking his hand up MacCready’s back as he did so. He didn’t have to wait  _ too _ long.

 

“I kind of...have all my things back at the bunkhouse, and...yea.”

 

_ Ah. _ Liam’s brows went up in understanding.  _ Of course. _

 

After being here this long, and it now being far enough into the night; not to mention the nature of  _ why _ he’d be heading back there, only to (he assumed) head  _ back _ to Liam’s house afterword...

 

“I could probably lend you something if you like.”

 

“I…” That face was heating up again. “You don’t...have to do that…”

 

“It’s really no problem.”

 

“...alright.”

 

“It’s settled then.”

 

Despite that, neither made a move to do anything of the sort. Liam didn’t move to his dresser; MacCready didn’t shift from on top of him. And they certainly didn’t stop being tangled up with each other. Besides, this was comfortable. It would be a shame to leave a good cuddle so soon.

 

The companionable silence had to be broken eventually, though, as MacCready suddenly said, “I really should just remember to have my stuff with me next time...”

 

‘Next time’, huh. He liked the sound of that. Although...

 

Liam lowered his voice, muttering into the sniper’s hair, feeling his own face start to heat up a bit. “You could just...leave your stuff here from now on…”

 

There was another pause. Neither of them breathed. Before finally, the sniper lifted his head to look up into Liam’s eyes.

 

“You mean that?”

 

Liam squeezed his shoulder assuringly. “Of course.”

 

Those deep blue eyes continued to look up at him, and he knew right then that he’d never get sick of the sight. “Then...I guess I’ll do that. Tomorrow.”

 

“Tomorrow,” Liam nodded.

 

And that was settled, too.

 

…

 

“We should probably move before we fall asleep with these pants on. It’s...not exactly a pleasant thing to wake up to.”

 

“Uh. Right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *eyes that rating tag in contemplation*  
> Not gonna lie. I love that this managed to happen on chapter 69. >XD


	70. Morning Mood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost didn't get this one done on time, so forgive any roughness for it being rushed. |D I can always fix it later.
> 
> Also apparently not done with the last chapter. *clears throat and eyes rating* Didn't expect this to become so...yea. You'll see. 8D
> 
> Chapter title was my friend's idea. Same title as a oneshot she wrote about these two sometime ago ~~that she refuses to post anywhere~~ where the title describes the subject pretty well. Ahem.  >>

There were songbirds chirping.

 

MacCready blinked drowsily into the light filtering in from between the curtains, mind not quite awake yet. He felt heavier than normal from what had to be one of the best nights of sleep he’d had in awhile. He almost wanted to sleep in longer, which was not something he normally did.

 

What time was it anyway?

 

With a lazy groan, the sniper stretched until a pleasant pop sounded from somewhere in his back. Sighing, he relaxed again, turning over as he reopened his eyes.

 

And blinked at the pleasant sight that met him.

 

Liam. Still asleep, face completely lax as he softly breathed in and out, mouth hanging open slightly as he laid on his back. It looked like he hadn’t moved once from where he’d flopped back on the bed. Except for his arm being stretched out to the side, where MacCready’s head was currently using it as a pillow. He hadn’t even realized he was doing that.

 

MacCready blushed a little, wondering if he should move. He had to be cutting off circulation to the appendage. Although...he still didn’t want to move. That might disturb Liam, and he certainly didn’t want to do that. Not when he looked so peaceful. Besides, he was too comfortable. And this was...nice.

 

...these thoughts were starting to sound a bit similar to last night’s, he realized.

 

Last night.

 

Last night, they had...

 

His faced started to heat up even more as he recalled the evening.  _ Their _ evening.

 

_ Moans, groans. The delightful friction and increasing heat. Fingers clutching at his back, whining keens, battling tongues. The increasing volume of whimpers as they found their release together. _

 

MacCready felt his pants begin to tighten.

 

...his  _ borrowed _ pants, rather, as Liam had lent him a pair of boxers to wear after he and the blonde had soiled the ones they had been wearing previously.

 

What  _ had _ gotten into him last night?

 

His face grew even hotter as he remembered how that ( _ really hot, holy shi--crap was it hot _ ) series of events had started.

 

It was pretty much when he had pulled Liam towards himself and caught the blonde off guard with that insistent kiss. And then it had escalated from there as--while yes, Liam had initially led and directed him--he had been given and taken control. Been the one in charge. Been the one to decide the speed it went. Brought Liam over the edge and been the one to drive him mad with pleasure--

 

This was not helping his growing erection.

 

Maybe he  _ should _ get out of bed now (if only to sneak away and deal with his “problem” in private [mortification]).

 

…

 

There was a mark on Liam’s neck. From when he had…

 

Ok that reminder wasn’t helping.

 

What time was it anyway?

 

If it was still early enough--hard to tell, but he hoped not  _ too _ late--he might be able to sneak away. Find some place to hide from everyone for awhile until he composed himself enough to be able to act at least somewhat normally. Because...while he didn’t want to avoid Liam (they’d done enough of that yesterday, and even if it wasn’t for long, just that short time had been miserable), he wasn’t entirely sure how to act around him now. At least...not like  _ this _ .

 

_ Still not helping. _

 

Trying to look everywhere but at the sleeping blonde’s face, MacCready spotted something on the nightstand. A clunky thing, kind of a tannish brown, with a screen on the front--

 

Oh. Right.

 

Liam had removed his pipboy every night he’d been here, claiming it “wasn’t very comfortable to sleep with”. (The sniper’s face darkened more, because phrasing.)

 

MacCready did have a watch, but it was more for show than actual function (he didn’t even wear it on the “proper” wrist). But pipboys had a built-in clock, and since it was right there, maybe he might be able to…

 

With a quick glance to make sure his--...boyfriend? lover?...partner with extra benefits?? Nah, he didn’t like that one...

 

…

 

Partner of the more  _ personal _ sort that also happened to be something of a mutually benefiting business relationship at the same time?

 

...that was...quite a mouthful (they’d figure it out later)...

 

\--...was still asleep, MacCready carefully eased the weight of his head off the blonde’s arm--checking to make sure he still slept--and leaned over a bit, squinting as he tilted his head to better see the screen and make out the numbers he could kind of see along the bottom.

 

Was that a...7? Or a 9? It could even be a 5 for all he knew, with how hard it was to read with the screen so d--

 

Suddenly, Liam inhaled a deeper breath, and before MacCready’s brain could calculate what this meant, he had rolled onto his side, throwing an arm over the sniper and pulling him closer with a soft “mmm” on the exhale, hair now brushing the underside of MacCready’s chin from where he had buried his head against the sniper’s neck.

 

MacCready held his breath, stock still as Liam settled again, breath puffing hotly against his collarbone (that..wasn’t helping things either...but he kind of liked it) in the slow rhythm of one asleep.

 

His neck wasn’t the only thing Liam was close to.

 

He gulped as the extra body heat--not to mention  _ whose _ body heat it was--did nothing to help him will away his current “problem”.

 

Welp. Sneaking away was no longer an option now.

 

He bit back a sigh, wondering how long he was going to be “trapped” for.

 

_ Oh boy… _

 

\---

 

Liam settled in closer to the pleasant warmth, burying his face further against it.

 

A familiar scent was filling his nostrils that he couldn’t quite place, but it was definitely coming off that source of heat, and since it was...well, he wouldn’t say  _ calming _ exactly. More like it had a pull to it, drawing him in in ways as pleasant as that warmth was.

 

He buried his face in further, pulling it in more with a content sigh.

 

...there also seemed to be something pressing against his stomach; not far from his belly button. Almost...pointing at him. Poking, even--

 

_...ah. _

 

He knew what that was. And suddenly that scent having such a draw made sense, for he now knew who it belonged to after having spent so much time around said person.

 

Liam lifted his head from MacCready’s chest, hair almost getting caught in that short goatee as it scuffed past, to look up at the face of one somewhat red sniper.

 

After a split second debate on whether he should tease MacCready or not--that blush was still adorable--Liam decided to take pity for the moment and instead went with a casual, “Good morning.” Oh, but it was so tempting.

 

Especially when MacCready couldn’t meet his eyes as his face grew darker anyway. “Mornin’...” he muttered.

 

Liam raised a brow. “Everything all right?” Ok, so he couldn’t resist teasing. At least a little. It was too fun, damn it.

 

MacCready’s eyes flicked over, but only for a split second before they darted away again. “Um. Yea.” His voice seemed a bit strangled.

 

“You sure about that? Because I can’t help noticing a certain...problem you have.” Huh, so his face  _ could _ get darker. Fascinating. (And so much for taking pity.) “Also can’t help wondering if I’m responsible for it in some way…” Damn. Now MacCready’s entire face was red. He’d hit the nail right on the head, hadn’t he. ...and that was an interesting phrase to go with right now. “I  _ could _ help you with that. If you want.”

 

Somehow, the sniper’s face got even darker, making the blonde wonder if he might pass out at this rate. Perhaps he should dial back the teasing. Except with how quiet MacCready was, it almost seemed like he was considering the offer...

 

Liam felt him twitch against his stomach. (He held back his intake of breath as how prominent it was was causing some stirring of his own.)

 

But yea, that made it pretty clear that he was considering the offer.

 

Those deep blue eyes slid towards his again. Flicked away briefly. Came back again.

 

Held his gaze with a heavier exhale as the sniper hesitantly nodded.

 

A blonde brow rose the slightest bit--a hint of his surprise at the answer.

 

Well. If he was sure...

 

Who was Liam to turn down an acceptance of help?

 

He studied MacCready calmly, angling his head away to look at him from the corner of his eye. “You’re sure? Sure you want me to help you deal with that?” His voice might have been pitched a little lower than he’d intended.

 

And he swore MacCready’s pupils dilated a bit in response as he took a shuddering breath, nodding again, this time more confident.

 

“Only if that’s what you really want. I don’t want it to seem like I’m forcing myself on you.” He really didn’t want to accidentally push too far. But he had something in mind, and it felt like he had to be more delicate about everything, as he was quite sure the sniper hadn’t been with another guy before. He didn’t come across as someone too experienced.

 

Again, MacCready nodded, the nerves he’d been showing receding back a bit. “I’m...sure, yea. I do...want your help.” The blush remained, despite the increasing obviousness that Liam could feel against his stomach. It was doing a number on his control.

 

He just looked at the sniper calmly, tilting his head the slightest bit as he studied his face again. “Alright.” With that, he brought up a hand to cup MacCready’s cheek, brushing along the rough edge of his beard with a thumb as he drew his face closer in a kiss.

 

It started soft; nothing demanding. Just a lazy kiss to build up the heat a bit and melt away any remaining nervousness. It seemed to do the trick, MacCready moaning softly into the kiss as it slowly deepened, one of his own hands coming up to grip at Liam’s wrist. Just holding his hand there as their faces tilted.

 

Liam carefully raised himself up, rolling so he was hovering over the sniper, not once breaking the kiss to keep him distracted. But once he was fully lying across MacCready, not quite lying on  _ top _ of him after easing him onto his back, the sniper did notice, a hitch in his breath giving him away. That the unsureness was returning.

 

Right away, Liam broke away from the kiss, leaning his forehead against MacCready’s as he murmured, “It’s alright. If you change your mind or this is too much, I’ll stop. No questions.” He ended the promise with another quick brush of his lips.

 

MacCready seemed to melt at those words, relaxing a bit more as he gripped at the back of Liam’s head to bring him down into another kiss.

 

_ There _ was that spark of confidence he’d shown last night. Liam was happy to see it return, nibbling at the sniper’s lips a bit more until he was quivering with want. He broke away, earning a small sound of protest that made him smirk to himself, quickly hiding it against the sniper’s neck and causing the protest to be covered by a gasp as he kissed along the softer skin up by MacCready’s ear. He carefully moved his hand lower, fingers brushing their way down the sniper’s torso and making him shiver in anticipation. Then caused even more of a shiver as he rubbed his hand back  _ up _ the same path, this time under the sniper’s shirt and pushing it up out of the way at the same time.

 

\---

 

MacCready shivered as his stomach was exposed, more from the anticipation than from cold. On the contrary, it was getting rather warm in here. He shivered even more as the patch of stubble on Liam’s chin scraped along his neck as the blonde mouthed his way along his jawline. His clenched fingers slipped away from those blonde locks--he hadn’t even realized he was still touching them--as Liam ducked his head down further, kissing just above his collarbone before breaking away, moving up to peck his lips once and slide his way over to an ear.

 

He couldn’t help the shudder that overtook him as Liam murmured, directly reminiscent of last night and the promise from a minute ago, “You can still tell me to stop if this is too much.”

 

He really was crazy if he thought MacCready would want him to stop. Not when he was this riled up. It was even more intense than last night, and they hadn’t even done anything yet!

 

So of course his breath hitched, followed by a moan as Liam bit at his ear suddenly. Not hard. Just a nip. But it was enough. And not enough.

 

Luckily, Liam took his response as one that meant he could continue, pecking another kiss to the sniper’s neck again as he slowly worked his way down, planting another to the middle of MacCready’s chest and making him arch a bit off the bed in another gasp.

 

Damn. You’d think he’d never done this before. Never been kissed. Never been touched. Never done anything.

 

But in a way, he really hadn’t done much. He and Lucy had loved each other very much, but they had been each other’s firsts. A lot of the beginning had been fumbled unsureness as they both figured it out. And it had become intense, yes, but they’d never gone too crazy. And then along had come Duncan and he became their main focus. There wasn’t time for much else. He hadn’t had time to explore other routes later on either.

 

So...yea. You could say he’d never done this before. This was a new experience and he intended to enjoy it. He had Liam’s promise they wouldn’t do anything he wasn’t comfortable with.

 

His thoughts were broken off suddenly as Liam’s hand brushed the front of his pants, lips and tongue caressing the skin just above his belly button.

 

MacCready’s breath hitched. When had he…?

 

He picked his head up from the pillow to look down at himself. The sight sent his heart into a frenzy.

 

Blonde hair hovering above him, the ends of some longer strands brushing against this stomach as more kisses were planted on the sensitive skin there. Fingers running along his waistline, teasing him. Hinting at...things.

 

As if sensing eyes on him, Liam lifted his head, darkened gray-blue eyes gazing up to stare directly into his own. He thought he saw a blonde brow lift, as if gauging how he was. If this was ok. All while that hand had moved closer to the button of his fly and just sat there, completely still.

 

Was he...going to…

 

Drawing a shaky breath to try to control his pounding heart, MacCready realized Liam was waiting on him to give the go-ahead. To say whether this was ok. If the line was drawn here, or if he could step beyond it (yet).

 

He licked his suddenly dry lips, watching Liam’s eyes darken as they followed the movement, yet he still didn’t move from where he was; still waiting on his permission. Because...he really was completely serious. Despite their positions, he was still giving MacCready all the control. Putting the trigger in his hands, so to speak.

 

And that was all he needed to make his decision.

 

Not once breaking eye contact, he nodded.

 

The button popped.

 

Followed by the  _ zzzp _ of a zipper.

 

Liam held his gaze for another second.

 

And looked down.

 

MacCready nearly fainted.

 

\---

 

He was uncut.

 

But that was unsurprising, given what Liam knew of the sniper’s upbringing. Did people even do that anymore? Or care to? Even have the means to do so (safely) out in the wasteland??

 

Not that it mattered, because it changed nothing. MacCready was perfect. And he didn’t care if that sounded cheesy. All he cared about was making him feel good, and since he’d been handed such a high level of trust, he didn’t wish to screw this up. God, he hoped he wasn’t too out of practice…

 

...he swore MacCready’s dick twitched before his eyes, swelling up a bit more. And damn if that didn’t make his breath hitch.

 

Ever so carefully, he lowered his face, testing the waters by planting a gentle kiss to the tip. The answering gasp was just as intoxicating. Just to be safe, he raised his eyes up to see how the sniper was doing.

 

Blown-out pupils greeted him, nearly overtaking MacCready’s deep blue eyes, jaw hanging down a bit as he breathed heavily.

 

_ Damn _ . That was a turn on. But also a good sign.

 

Drawing the (borrowed, which did things to his heart, but made his own dick twitch in response) boxers further down so they were out of the way, Liam gripped the base, drawing the member further up to steady it. He watched MacCready’s face as this time he drew his tongue over the tip in a single swipe. Immediately, the sniper’s head dropped back with a groan, fingers gathering up the sheets as his hips twitched. Liam breathed out slowly as he watched.

 

He repeated the action just to hear that groan again. Salt burst over his tongue, the familiar flavor encouraging, and this time MacCready’s hips nearly rose up from the bed. He ended up needing to grip MacCready’s hip with his other hand just to avoid getting a cock shoved down his throat without warning. That wouldn’t be good for either of them. Liam nearly rethought his course of action, thinking that maybe it had been too long since he’d done this.

 

Although…

 

He looked up again, watching the rise and fall of the sniper’s chest.

 

If just this much got  _ that _ kind of reaction, the temptation would be far too great to stop now.

 

He looked down, shifting his jaw as he judged the length and girth. Looked up again, saw the frantic state the sniper was in that was nearly doing  _ himself _ in.

 

Maybe he wouldn’t be able to take the whole length of him, but he could still make this good. He wanted to. Needed to.

 

Giving a single pump to MacCready’s dick just to watch the sniper squirm, he licked a stripe up the underside from base to tip to rile him up even more, ending it with another swipe across the tip before he completely engulfed the head.

 

\---

 

Holy. Shit.

 

(He was  _ not _ going to censor that.)

 

Heat surrounded him. He nearly exploded at the intensity of it.

 

Then Liam rose up almost completely off of him, and he nearly protested the loss, until he sank back down again, taking in at least half his length.

 

He gasped, hands flying to card through blonde locks (he swore Liam would’ve smirked had he been able to at the moment), and would’ve bucked up into that warmth if not for the arm thrown across his waist to pin his movements. It should be restricting; restraining. But it just added to the excitement.

 

Then Liam started bobbing his head and he lost the ability to think.

 

\---

 

It was all coming back to him now.

 

Like riding a bike. Only hotter.

 

…

 

Probably not the best metaphor. Or maybe it was? In...a similar situation maybe…

 

Ignoring the direction of his thoughts for now (he was getting hard enough as it was), Liam focused back on the sniper, encouraged by how those fingers gripped at his hair every time he lowered. He breathed carefully through his nose, seeing just how far he could push himself. How much of that length he could swallow down. MacCready wasn’t too big, but he wasn’t small either. There was still the chance he could choke. But that was what his hand was for. For now, he focused on getting his lips and hand to meet as they simultaneously pumped together, slowly driving the sniper closer to the edge.

 

Experimentally, engulfing him as far as he currently could, he hummed around MacCready’s length.

 

Those fingers tightened almost painfully on a sucking gasp.

 

He chuckled deep in his throat, causing them to tighten even more. That was always a good sign. But the intensity with which MacCready was breathing, practically gasping for air as he panted, told him he didn’t have long. As much as he wanted to see how far he could push this--to do his best--that might need to wait for another time, when the sniper wasn’t as riled up. It would be inconsiderate to leave him on the edge for too long.

 

Pulling up until he held just the swollen head between his lips, he increased the speed and pressure of his hand along the entire length, tongue darting forward to focus at the slit, dipping into it before he engulfed as much of the sniper’s length as he could once again.

 

That finally did it.

 

With a groan that was half a series of whimpering gasps, the sniper rose halfway off the bed, only stopped by the arm across his stomach, as his release hit the back of Liam’s throat.

 

He managed to swallow most of it, only a small trickle escaping from the corner of his mouth, quickly swiped away with the back of a hand and lapped at with a tongue.

 

Again, the flavor was familiar, but also very unique. Something he could get used to.

  
He licked his lips again, looking up to see the sniper watching him through half-closed eyes. He looked completely wrecked in the best way possible, breathing heavily with his mouth hanging half-open.

 

Liam’s dick twitched, but he ignored it, tucking MacCready’s spent dick back into his pants and moving upward to lie next to the sniper once again.

 

Pecking a quick kiss to his lips, the blonde gathered MacCready into his arms, just holding him close as he regained his composure.

 

\---

 

It took him some time to come back to earth, floating gently back down from the incredible high he’d been sent on.

 

_ God...damn… _

 

He’d never done something as intense as that before. Not that he could remember right now. His brain was still in the...mush state.

 

And it might stay that way a bit longer if Liam kept holding him the way he was, stroking at his hair as if he was something precious. Something to cherish. He could fall asleep again right now with how comfortable he was and with how much that amazing experience had drained him.

 

Except...hold on…

 

With great effort, MacCready picked his head up from Liam’s shoulder, glancing down briefly before looking him in the face. He swore he’d seen…

 

“Um.” He cleared his throat, trying to smooth out the roughness as he regained control of his voice. “Did you...want me to…?”

 

Liam simply smiled, shaking his head once. “Nah, don’t worry about me.” He was about to open his mouth to protest, but the blonde cut him off. “I’ve dealt with worse. I’ll be fine.” Then he smirked, almost mischievously. “Besides, I got almost as much out of that as you did.”

 

And now he was blushing.

 

The smirk morphed back into a soft smile, looking at him as if he was something precious again. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that...but he swore there was this warmth forming somewhere around his heart. “Come on. It’s already…” Liam looked off into the distance, frowning in thought. “Well, I’m not really sure what time, but it is pretty light out. Might as well get out of bed before anyone comes looking for us.”

 

...he had a good point. Much as MacCready could fall asleep again, realistically that couldn’t happen. There was still too much to do. He almost groaned at the thought of working on that power armor more. But if it meant being able to help Liam when he went into the Glowing Sea, he would gladly put up with it. Besides, he’d gotten pretty far on that wreck of a frame. It wouldn’t make sense to give up on it now.

 

Finally, he nodded.

 

And they both (reluctantly) left the warmth of the bed behind.

 

\---

 

As MacCready pulled his duster back on, checking to make sure everything was in place in its pockets--caps, ammo, letters about Duncan (his heart jolted as he wondered if there might finally be word or if it was still too soon to know)--he started thinking. About just how little experience he actually had.

 

Liam seemed to have a good amount of it, going by how confident he seemed doing things. Not batting an eye at the...encounters they’d had. (He blushed.) Even what they’d just done. He couldn’t remember ever doing that before. Definitely not with another guy, and not to that degree with Lucy.

 

He remembered back in Goodneighbor. How some of the more desperate drifters would hang out in the back alleyways. Exchanging blowjobs for caps--giving, taking; sometimes both, depending on the night.

 

On more than one drunken occasion, where he’d been at his absolute lowest, he’d almost been tempted himself. To give in to a new level of low; of desperation. A quick and easy job. But a small part of his brain had always pointed out the risks. He didn’t know those people. Didn’t know where it would go. Couldn’t trust that it’d be safe.

 

Who knew what shady individual might take advantage of a desperate man, down on his luck? Plus, there was always the risk of what might happen if he  _ didn’t _ lose his life. What else he might lose, or  _ gain _ . Those thoughts always made him shudder the most, and kept him from stooping into that gutter.

 

He was very glad of that now, especially since holding off from going that far was why he’d still been at the Third Rail that night. The night he’d been hired by Liam.

 

He was lucky. Lucky to have met someone like him. Someone he could trust to watch his back when he’d originally been hired to do the watching. Someone he would eventually grow close to without even meaning to, and never once regret it.

 

“You’re pretty quiet,” the voice of a certain blonde broke through his dark yet silver-lined thoughts. “Is everything alright?”

 

He looked over to where Liam was adjusting his pipboy after he had strapped it back onto his wrist, calm gray eyes watching him curiously. Gray, blue, somewhere in between. A unique shade of eye color for a just as unique individual.

 

MacCready ran a hand through his hair a few times, placing his hat back on his head before he answered. “Yea, I’m good.”

 

_ More than good. _

 

The blonde flexed his wrist a few times, glancing down at the screen to deem it was to his satisfaction, before looking his way again with a tilt of the head that made him seem more innocent than he really was. “If you’re sure…

 

“Anyway,” he looked towards the bedroom door, “I’m gonna go see if Codsworth’s gotten something edible figured out.” His voice dropped into a mutter, “I’m afraid to see if he’s found more Sugar Bombs. Who knows what shape those are in…” He shuddered, then continued in a normal voice, “Or if I’ll need to scrounge something up. At least I know the coffee will be good.” He smirked at the sniper.

 

Apparently his love for the magical brew that Mister Handy always got to perfection had been obvious. MacCready just frowned in a mock pout, choosing to (mostly) ignore the jibe as they both headed out of the room.

 

...and continued to ignore Liam as he laughed at the way MacCready sped up when the scent of freshly-brewed coffee hit his nose.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter should be more plot and less pwp.  
> (Unless the characters hijack the plot again. 8| )


	71. Rifleman

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this chapter was supposed to return to the plot. Liam and Mac apparently had other ideas.  
> I don't even with that title, but it's very much their fault.

Liam was almost regretful.

 

Not about breakfast, as it turned out to be something more edible than two century old Sugar Bombs (Codsworth had gotten hold of some brahmin bacon, something his lack of taste buds could easily get right since it only required proper heating with no need to season). Not about the further progress of Sanctuary’s other houses (the more solid, intact ones now had basic patch jobs so any incoming winter weather--whatever counted as winter here--would stay outside where it belonged). And definitely not about how he and MacCready acted around each other today (though there were more looks tossed back and forth than usual, and he was sure the other residents had to be blind to miss them).

 

What he  _ was _ regretful about…

 

...was his refusal that morning to take up the sniper’s offer.

 

While he’d managed to calm down enough to get through the day, he found control of his libido was being constantly tested. By the smallest things, even.

 

A look that lasted a little longer than planned. An accidental brush of fingertips from passing requested tools. Exertion from using said tools making muscles ripple and glisten with sweat in a way similar to--

 

_ Ahem. _

 

Shit. He felt like a teenager who had just hit puberty all over again.

 

He was thirty, damn it! His hormones shouldn’t be this crazy!

 

(Two hundred and forty, even, if you wanted to get technical. And most of that had been spent in deep freeze, which he would’ve thought might dull a few things...but apparently not.)

 

Liam ended up burying himself in his own work, finishing off the power armor stand in record time, hooking up the battered T-45 to it, working out the dents and dings still leftover from the deathclaw until he ran out of useable materials without digging into the lead for plating...and then he’d moved onto weapons modding.

 

Hell, he’d even inquired about MacCready’s rifle ( _ Brain. Stop. _ ), checking if the sniper wanted something a little better than the one he currently used. MacCready seemed reluctant to give up the gun...and Liam could understand that. He’d never seen the sniper use anything else, and going by the scuffs and color wear along the wooden stock, that rifle had been with him for a long time. Liam would feel weird about someone else handling his most trusted weapon, too (and that thought was seriously not helping,  _ again, brain, please stop _ ). Even if he trusted them.

 

In the end, Liam reached a compromise with the sniper. He’d studied the recon scope attached to the rifle he’d found enough to mostly understand it to the point that he could quite possibly replicate it. It would make MacCready’s already impressive shooting skills even better; especially at night.

 

_ That  _ had definitely caught his attention. So, after a bit more silent debate, the sniper had (reluctantly) passed over his rifle, saying he expected to have it back in good shape, and that  _ he’d know _ if it was messed with.

 

Liam had pinched his mouth shut on the,  _ Oh, I bet you’d know _ , comment he’d wanted to make.  _ Just like you did this morning. _

 

...unfortunately, that hadn’t helped his libido either.

 

Damn it.

 

He might resort to jacking off in the shower at this rate, if only so he wouldn’t be jumping the sniper as soon as they were alone. He still wanted to approach him carefully about things like that.

 

At least no one said anything come dinnertime.

 

Though Liam did notice the curious,  _ knowing _ glances (and hidden smirks) when MacCready chose to sit right next to him. He paid them no mind, however, not even to acknowledge that the others knew. Because it didn’t matter.

 

The only thing that had his attention right now was the person sitting next to him.

 

Subtly, anyway. He wasn’t ignoring the conversations directed his way, since that would be rude, and he liked hearing how everyone was doing--the progress they were making; future plans for the settlement; suggestions on how to renovate the houses; maybe add a few buildings to the foundations they had cleared of buildings too far gone to live in…

 

All the while, Liam would occasionally bump his knee against MacCready’s under the table just for that bit of contact. And MacCready would bump his back.

 

It didn’t do much to help his libido either, but he liked the burst of warmth he felt at their hidden game of “footsie”.

 

It was a true test of stealth that he managed to make his way back to the house after dinner without anyone noticing his little “problem”. He breathed a quiet sigh of relief once he was through the front door.

 

But then the door shut behind him.

 

When he was no longer near it.

 

Frowning as he drew a breath at the sense of deja vu crawling up his spine, Liam turned--

 

\--to see MacCready, brow raised pointedly in his direction with his hand still on the knob of the closed door.

 

Liam blinked, pinching his lips, causing the sniper to frown as he stepped away from the door. He stayed where he was as his...boyfriend/lover/whatever-they-finally-went-with drew closer until they stood nearly eye to eye. He briefly flicked his eyes away from that knowing (frankly, too much so) stare, feeling the sudden urge to flee. Not that he could if he wanted to. Those deep blues had him pinned to the spot, standing at full attention.

 

In a manner of speaking.

 

MacCready turned his head, side-eyeing the blonde as he continued to frown. “Is everything...alright?”

 

Liam blinked again, that sense of deja vu growing stronger. “Yea, I think so…”

 

MacCready continued to eye him. “Are you sure?”

 

The blonde fidgeted a bit, suddenly feeling like the sniper could see right through him. And...he wasn’t going to lie; it was kind of exhilarating. Even out of practice, most people had trouble seeing through the mask he could put on, but MacCready seemed to be able to read him most of the time. Even when he wore an  _ actual _ mask. As if to prove the point further, the sniper’s following words at his silence drove it home.

 

“Because I can’t help noticing a certain problem you’ve been having…” 

 

Ok, this was getting weird now. Those words were almost perfectly mirroring this morning. And MacCready knew that, didn’t he.

 

“I mean…” he continued. “I’m pretty sure I’m at least somewhat responsible for that, so…” That gaze drifted downward, the air of confidence breaking a bit as redness started to dust his cheeks. “I could...help you out with it.”

 

Liam was about to open his mouth in an automatic “you don’t need to do that”, but, as if the sniper could see his intent, the words were shot down before he got the chance to fully even think them.

 

“Hell, it might not be a problem if you’d have just let me deal with it this morning.” He was practically pouting now. Mixed with the increasing blush, he was looking very adorable.

 

(He also had a good point, but Liam being Liam, stubbornly didn’t give in.)

 

Liam held off his smirk at the petulant look, raising a brow instead. “I don’t know. You give yourself too little credit. Who says I wouldn’t have been in this state anyway, what with how you were working up so much of a sweat working on that power armor?” That image was...not helping. Not that it actually mattered, since they were no longer in public eye.

 

MacCready snorted, actually taking a step forward (Liam felt his heart rate increase), the blush remaining even as he pointed out, “Yea, but would you have been like  _ this _ \--” There was a sharp intake of breath as his hand shot forward suddenly. “--if you  _ had _ let me help you with it sooner?”

 

Holy shit. He hadn’t expected MacCready to be so bold. But... _ holy shit _ . There was that confidence he’d expressed last night, and damn was it a turn on. He was sure the sniper could feel his reaction to that boldness, what with where his hand currently was.  _ What it was gripping. _

 

Despite the effect MacCready was having on him, Liam managed to get out a teasing remark mixed with a bit of serious, voice only somewhat strained. “This isn’t a sniper rifle. Think you can handle it?”

 

He shuddered as that hand tightened in a more sure grip that covered up any nerves the sniper’s increasing blush was giving away. “I think I can figure it out. I am a fast learner.”

 

\---

 

He had no idea what he was doing.

 

...ok. Maybe that was a lie. He had  _ some  _ idea. It wasn’t like he was built any differently from Liam. Mostly, anyway. It seemed like Liam might be a bit thicker than he was, but proportionally it made sense, since he was a little less skinny than the sniper.

 

But. Still.

 

This was  _ Liam _ . Another guy. Whose dick he had in his hand.

 

Through two layers of fabric in the form of pants and briefs, maybe...but still. Not his own. And that was...a foreign concept.

 

Although…

 

He studied Liam’s face--the dilating pupils, slight sheen of sweat, lips parted to take in more breath.

 

It seemed like he was already doing this right.

 

Just to be certain, though, a sly thought passed through his head that was too tempting to pass up on. “But if you’re not sure, I could just leave you alone…” He started to pull his hand back, ready to step away--

 

Liam’s hand shot out, grasping at his wrist before it could move too far, eyes burning into his with possibly even more intensity than they had before as he just continued to breathe heavily.

 

MacCready was a bit relieved at that, and felt a small smirk pull at his lip. “Should I take that as a ‘hell no’?”

 

The blonde huffed out, the words sounding out of breath, “What do you think?”

 

“I’m thinking a change of location might be--”

 

He almost yelped as his words were cut off by Liam suddenly tugging on his caught wrist to drag him down the hallway.

 

In the end, they were both surprised by just how well the sniper could handle  _ other  _ types of rifles.

 

From the way he had Liam pinned to the wall as soon as the door was shut.

 

Claimed his lips and captured that first moan before it could escape after gripping him once again.

 

Felt hands grip even more tightly at his shoulders when he started to pump through layers of fabric.

 

And then felt them nearly dig holes into his duster when he’d grown bold enough to undo belt and fly.

 

Liam had needed to pull away from that kiss to suck in a breath at the first tentative touch against skin. Any unsureness MacCready felt slowly melted away when the blonde pressed his forehead against the sniper’s shoulder as he slid his fingers down further.

 

It really wasn’t all that different from stroking himself. He could definitely do this. He circled his fingers around the shaft, giving a quick tug.

 

Liam sucked in a gasp, hips jolting forward against his grasp. MacCready could feel that hot breath heating his shoulder. It was quite the encouragement.

 

Growing bolder, he pressed a kiss to the side of Liam’s neck--right at the slightly faded spot he had left last night, he noted--drawing another shuddering breath that broke off in a series of gasps as he slowly began to pump up and down; increasing speed, slowing some, alternating how much pressure, flipping his hand around to press his thumb to the tip. All to hear what kinds of sounds he could draw from the stealthy blonde as he came undone.

 

He moaned against Liam’s neck, sucking at the skin there as fingers scrabbled against his back once again. All of this was making him wish he could touch himself, too. But Liam came first. Or that was the idea anyway. He’d gone this long on some sort of self-inflicted torture all because he seemed--what? Afraid to scare off the sniper? Sure, MacCready was unsure about some things due to lack of experience, but how would he get past that without actually gaining experience? It wasn’t like he was being forced into things against his will either; he already had assurance that wouldn’t happen.

 

In fact--he pulled away from the blonde’s neck with a wet sound of suction, licking at the mark he’d left behind and eliciting another moan as Liam’s head dropped back against the wall, eyes tightly shut as his hips continued to jut forward into MacCready’s fist--he was tempted to try something else he’d never done. He glanced down.

 

The rosy head of Liam’s dick pointed up at him, shining with a bead of precum encouraged free from MacCready’s hand still applying pressure as he moved it up and down. He doubted the blonde would last much longer at this rate...but still. He wondered.

 

Taking a peek at Liam’s face and seeing his eyes were still squeezed shut in the throes of pleasure, he made up his mind.

 

MacCready slid down to his knees. Those fingers still gripping at his shoulders followed him down, grip loosening as if in question. Now face to face with Liam’s dick, his hand slowly came to a halt.

 

He hesitated. And looked up again as he felt eyes on him.

 

Liam looked down at him dazedly, awareness coming back to his eyes the longer he stared and regained his breath. A frown started to crease his brow, a question forming on his lips. Followed by realization as his eyes widened a small margin. “Mac. You don’t have--” The words were cut off with a shuddering gasp, those eyes almost squeezing shut again as MacCready gave his dick a single pump, hand settling closer to the base. “Are you sure you--want--”

 

He seemed to have trouble getting the words out as the sniper held his gaze. Then practically deflated as all the air left him in a shuddering rush when the sniper suddenly licked the shining head.

 

MacCready licked at his lips, not quite sure what to make of the taste. But he liked the reaction it had gotten. He’d never seen Liam’s eyes turn so dark a shade of...was there even any blue left? Those pupils were so dilated, the irises were practically charcoal by now.

 

Taking a breath and slowly releasing it, he held Liam’s gaze again, noting the lack of argument he saw there now. Just the panting breaths as he silently watched.

 

And continued to watch as MacCready tentatively drew his tongue up Liam’s length, emulating what the blonde had done himself that morning. One of those hands gripped at his shoulder again, and that was encouraging.

 

Drawing another breath as he reached the tip, the sniper steeled himself, licking at his suddenly dry lips before he stretched them over that engorged head.

 

A hand went to his hair--where had his hat gone?--as he swiped his tongue across the tip again. He didn’t think he could go any further, and didn’t really want to risk trying more than he could handle--this was already a lot farther than he thought he’d go--so he focused his attention where he already was. He knew from his own experience that the head was the most sensitive anyway, and his hand proved to be pretty effective as well. (He’d noticed even Liam hadn’t managed to go all the way down either, so that told him it was ok; nothing to be ashamed of.)

 

So it was with that in mind that MacCready tightened the grip his hand had, slowly beginning to pump again as his tongue gave another swipe across the tip.

 

He knew he was doing alright when fingers tightened in his hair almost painfully.

 

\---

 

Holy shit.

 

_ Holy shit he was going to explode _ .

 

God fucking damn, MacCready had a talented tongue.

 

He couldn’t think of anything else as the sniper continued to lap at the tip, applying pressure as he swiped across the slit there, drawing from him sharp gasps and whimpers as sparks of pleasure went up his spine.

 

It took all of his willpower not to thrust his hips forward into that hot mouth.

 

He already knew he wasn’t going to last long, but he didn’t think it would build up this fast. This intensely.

 

Then again, he didn’t think he’d have MacCready’s mouth on his dick either.

 

Liam groaned at the thought--the realization.

 

MacCready was sucking his dick.

 

And already that familiar pressure was building behind his balls.

 

“Mac,” he gasped out at another swipe, another twist of the wrist (how was he so good at that?). Liam licked his lips, trying again. “Mac-- Unless you--” Gasp. “--think you can handle it--” He forced his fingers to loosen from the sniper’s hair so he wasn’t held in place. “I don’t think--you wanna be--doing--that anymore--” Hell, it was getting hard to talk. He hoped MacCready got the messa--

 

_ Shit-- _

 

Liam’s fingers tightened again of their own accord on a sharp gasp.

 

It seemed MacCready got the message alright.

 

Except, rather than pulling  _ off _ , the sniper had decided to engulf him  _ further _ . Both hands gripping at his hips. Brow drawn and eyes shut in concentration as he turned suction around him.

 

And seeing that, Liam couldn’t hold back any longer.

 

He just hoped MacCready knew what he was getting into.

 

He cried out as the pressure finally released.

 

\---

 

He knew it was coming.

 

Knew Liam had reached that point; had even been warned. Knew he’d had the chance to pull away to avoid getting a mouthful of cum.

 

But he hadn’t pulled away. No. He’d held on. Pushed himself further.

 

At that first hot jet hitting the back of his mouth, he was almost wishing he had.

 

It wasn’t that MacCready was choking. He’d just been caught by surprise, not expecting the sudden spurt to come at him with such force. So you couldn’t really blame him for pulling away when he did.

 

Or mostly. He just barely stopped himself from backing off all the way--Liam’s hand on his head, just resting there and not really restraining him, probably helped--but that didn’t mean he’d avoided some of it dribbling down his chin when he finally did pull back.

 

But that still left him with a mouth full of cum, and he wasn’t sure if he should just...swallow it...or if it would be rude to spit it out. He made a face at the odd flavor, not really sure what to make of it. It wasn’t  _ bad _ , per se; just...different. Mainly salty and a bit bitter.

 

A snort from somewhere above him drew his attention upward again.

 

He felt his face heat up when he realized Liam had been watching his mental debate. But the look on the blonde’s face was more amusement than anything, mixed with the sort of drained contentment that came from being satisfied. A smirk creased Liam’s eye as he lifted a brow.

 

“You know...you don’t  _ have _ to swallow that if you don’t want to. I won’t be offended.”

 

A sense of relief washed over MacCready. But he was still unsure.

 

As if reading his uncertainty, Liam snorted again. “I’m serious. It’s something of an...acquired taste. And let’s just say not everyone acquires it.”

 

Ah. Well. That was good to know. Because MacCready wasn’t sure he’d be acquiring it any time soon…

 

So he didn’t feel so bad about leaving Liam for a minute to visit the bathroom.

 

After tucking the blonde back into his pants, of course. He wasn’t  _ that _ rude.

 

\---

 

Liam stretched his arms over his head, letting the rays of morning sunlight hit his face.

 

Before sliding his trademark gas mask back into place. It almost felt weird to wear after so many days without it.

 

He didn’t miss the poorly veiled disappointment that flashed across MacCready’s face either. He smirked in the sniper’s direction, almost forgetting that it wouldn’t be seen...but it seemed to translate across anyway, as it earned him a rolling of eyes.

 

The smirk softened into a smile at that. Liam flicked his head forward before he started down the road.

 

It had been a nice break these past few days in Sanctuary. Liam and MacCready had cleared the air between them, figured some things out, and ultimately gotten closer than either of had expected. As well as gotten some well-needed rest from all the chaos.

 

Which of course they were about to go right back into. Couldn’t avoid it forever. Not when so many things drew the Minutemen General’s attention--including some things not Minutemen-related.

 

Liam patted at his pocket where the toy soldier kept Nora’s holotape safe.

 

They nodded to Preston as he patrolled past, and waved to the others from where they tended to the garden, or worked on a nearby roof in Sturges’ case. Codsworth was hovering at the workbench set up there, pausing from cutting plywood into workable pieces to wave almost tearfully as they departed. He’d put together something of a care package for their trip, and neither had had the heart to refuse the assortment of pre-war foods the robot had so carefully put together.

 

Even if they didn’t plan on eating any of it. (The thought was there nonetheless.)

 

The old bridge creaked under their weight as it always did, but continued to hold up as they cleared it. Liam paused for a moment to pull up his pipboy, checking the time while he studied the map. “The weather’s looking pretty good. If it holds up and the roads aren’t blocked, we should be able to make it to Diamond City sometime in the afternoon.” He looked up from the map to look the sniper’s way. “You ready to head out?”

 

MacCready smirked, readying his sniper rifle with its new recon scope. “You lead, I follow.”

 

Liam nodded back, pulling out his usual assault rifle, complete with reworked stock.

 

And off they went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the plot rears its head once again. I'm almost sad to return to it, but it had to happen eventually.  
>  ~~doesn't mean I need to stop writing smut~~  
>  I mean... >>


End file.
